Suchergebnisse für droit aux renseignements

Identification des actionnaires, restrictions de transfert et « white listings »

Identification of shareholders is a topic that is governed by various layers of rules under Swiss law, which were adopted at different times to serve different purposes. Most of these rules were adopted at a time when the structure of capital markets was very different from what it is today, and before the digitalization of securities became a topic. Also, growing focus on the fight against money…

Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2022 | Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2022

Die Rechtsprechung zum privaten Bankrecht skizziert jeweils die neusten Entwicklungen in der richterlichen Rechtsfortbildung. Tatsächlich führen uns viele Entscheide aber auf eine Reise in die…

Le droit des sociétés 2021/2022 / Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2021/2022

Cette année, le Tribunal fédéral a eu l’occasion de se prononcer sur des questions dont on peut s’étonner qu’elles se posent pour la première fois à lui, compte tenu des discussions qu’elles ont…

Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2021 / Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2021

Au moment où nous écrivons ces lignes, la Russie envahit l’Ukraine. L’Union européenne et les États-Unis ont adopté de nouvelles sanctions contre plusieurs centaines de personnalités liées au régime…

Le rôle du représentant indépendant des actionnaires en droit suisse de la société anonyme, notamment à l’aune de la législation COVID et des assemblées générales virtuelles du nouveau droit

The independent proxy emerged in Swiss company law a few years ago through the back door of the Minder initiative (Article 95 Federal Constitution). This constitutional provision was then implemented by the Ordinance against Excessive Remuneration in Listed Companies Limited by Shares (ORAb), which has been in force since 1 January 2014. Its institution has been given a new lease of life with the…

Les nouveaux droits des actionnaires en matière de restitution et d’accès à l’information

The 19 June 2020 revision of the provisions on the limited by shares company seeks to enhance corporate governance with further transparency and additional shareholder protection. The return of undue benefits claim (art. 678 para. 1 nCO) has been modified to offer Swiss companies and their shareholders a better possibility to obtain redress. This revision also addresses the shareholders’ need to…

Grenzen der Mitwirkungspflicht von Banken im Verfahren der internationalen Steueramtshilfe

The appetite of foreign authorities for tax data is steadily growing. The requests for administrative assistance related to bank clients are no longer limited to the usual account documents. Rather, a trend became apparent that the requesting states require the banks to specially process such data. Against this background, it is important to determine the limits of duty of banks and other…

Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2020/2021 Le droit des sociétés 2020/2021

Auch dieses Jahr befassten sich die Gerichte wieder eingehend mit der Thematik der aktienrechtlichen Verantwortlichkeit und brachten einige interessante Entscheide insbesondere im Zusammenhang mit…

Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2020 | Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2020

Das Jahr 2020 war in vielerlei Hinsicht aussergewöhnlich. Demgegenüber bewegen sich die Entscheide zum privaten Bankrecht, die in diesem Jahr gefällt wurden, zu einem Grossteil im Rahmen des…

Transparence des traitements de données personnelles opérés par les organes fédéraux: un pas en avant, deux en arrière

The recent revisions of European data protection instruments have been marked by the desire to give data subjects back control over their data, in particular by improving the transparency of data processing. The same desire for enhanced visibility and intelligibility has motivated the Swiss legislator in the revision of the Data Protection Act. The fact remains that the objective has only been…

Entreprises et Big Data: peut-on forcer les entreprises à partager leurs données non-personnelles (par des licences obligatoires ou des licences „FRAND“)?

In the digital age where big data is of key value, companies generate a massive amount of data and make intensive use of data. Given that companies may depend on the access to non-personal data (industrial data) held by other companies to remain competitive, the question arises as to whether companies should be forced to share their non-personal data with each other (B2B data sharing) on the…

Trois modèles de contrôle des investissements transfrontaliers

The screening of foreign investment has become a growing concern for many countries. In the midst of a trade war between the US and China as well as issues related to state-owned companies’ interference in the EU, it is bound to become a subject of heated debates in Switzerland. As we continue to live through a global pandemic, some countries are seeing themselves lacking or at least vulnerable…

Le droit des sociétés 2019/2020 / Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2019/2020

La décision judiciaire la plus importante de l’année écoulée concerne le droit des groupes de sociétés, à savoir le Cash Pooling, mais cette fois dans le contexte de la responsabilité du conseil d’administration (1.). Un autre arrêt important clarifie l’exercice de la clause échappatoire pour le refus au transfert des actions nominatives liées (2.). La jurisprudence a en outre eu l…

Mise sous scellés et infractions financières: développements récents

The sealing of evidence is a procedural tool of great relevance, notably in the context of economic offences. The case law on this measure is important and sometimes uncertain. This is especially true in administrative criminal law: the practical importance of this area of law has been steadily increasing these past years while its procedural provisions appear to be outdated. This paper deals…

LEFin-LSFin: des assujettis face aux nouveaux organes et organismes

The regulations governing financial institutions and services are bringing new actors – such as portfolio managers and trustees – within the scope of FINMA su­pervision, supported by a reformed self-regulatory framework. It is worth comparing the latter with the set of rules and organizational measures adopted for the registration of client advisors and the control of prospectuses for securities…

Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2019 / Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2019

Cette chronique s’allonge chaque année. Sa consultation en devient moins aisée. Pour faciliter son accès aux lecteurs nous avons introduit trois nouveautés.

Le droit à l’information de l’administrateur et sa mise en œuvre judiciaire

This article deals with the right to information and ­inspection of a member of the board of directors (Article 715a of the Swiss Code of Obligations, CO) and the possibility, recently acknowledged by the Federal Tribunal, to raise a claim based on such right. The implementing of Article 715a CO in court gives rise to a number of questions. Often, time is of the essence and a court decision may…

Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2018/2019 / Le droit des sociétés 2018/2019

Im vergangenen Jahr stechen wiederum die Verantwortlichkeitsklagen gegen geschäftsführende Organe hervor (1.). Die weiteren Fälle betreffen die Akkreditierung von Revisoren (2.) sowie die Rechtsprechung zur Vertretung der Gesellschaft bei Interessenkonflikten (3.) und die gemischte Anwalts-AG (4.).

Enquêtes internes et secret professionnel de l’avocat

The Federal Court recently rendered two decisions on the issue of the protection of the lawyer’s professional secrecy within the context of internal inquiries. These decisions represent an important step, since there were contradictory opinions in legal writings on the issue of whether lawyers’ participation in internal inquiries should be regarded as a typical activity, and consequently covered…

Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2018 / Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2018

Das Jahr 2018 brachte einen reichen Fundus an Entscheiden im privaten Bankrecht. Etliche davon schreiben Geschichten fort, über die wir bereits in früheren Übersichten berichtet hatten. Dazu gehört die Klage des Drogeriekönigs Müller gegen die Bank J. Safra ­Sarasin im Zusammenhang mit den sogenannten Cum-­Ex-Geschäften (r34), die Fortsetzung der Verantwortlichkeitsklage der Glarner…

Blanchiment d’argent: la banque face au risque pénal

This paper focuses on the main issues regarding the criminal liability of a bank for money laundering from a practical perspective. Substantive law as well as procedural aspects are considered. After an update on the practice of the criminal justice authorities, we examine the circle of agents able to trigger the liability of the ­corporation, notably in situations of outsourcing. Then,…

La communication de soupçons au MROS: du droit à l’obligation

Communication right in case of suspicion of money laundering was introduced in 1990 in the Swiss Criminal Code, despite opposition from the banking sector at that time. It has been completed, in 1998, by a duty to file a report with the Money Laundering Reporting ­Office Switzerland, when reasonable grounds to suspect that assets involved in the business relationship are linked to a criminal…

Digitalisation dans le domaine bancaire et aperçu des risques juridiques

There is today a strong trend towards digitization in the banking sector in line with the constant development of new technologies. Swiss legislation authorizes online bank account opening processes and can be seen as pretty liberal in terms of reception and recording of banking documentation in electronic form. In this context, Swiss banks may be interested to evaluate the feasibility of, and…

Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2017 / Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2017

Les services d’investissement (intermédiation sur le marché des capitaux et le marché monétaire) ont une telle importance dans le débat sur la place financière suisse qu’on oublie souvent de rappeler…

Numérisation et registre du commerce

From the point of view of the competent authorities, paperless keeping of the commercial registry has long been a reality. All necessary tools for electronic filing by the users also exist. However, such form of communication remains optional, and experience shows that paper filings remain the norm. In the absence of a statutory obligation, the situation is not likely to change until innovative,…

Le régime de responsabilité civile en matière d’émissions publiques de jetons digitaux (ICO)

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) consist of an innovative form of capital raising. In the digital era, it has become technically possible to raise substantial funds within a very short period of time. This paper analyses the civil liability regime applying to misrepresentations communicated to investors acquiring tokens in an ICO. Pursuant to the prospectus liability provisions of the Swiss Code of…

Réflexions critiques sur l’adoption par la Suisse des normes du GAFI en ­matière de transparence des sociétés : du bricolage législatif à l’abolition des actions au porteur ?

As a result of the revised FATF recommendations issued in 2012, Switzerland, under international pressure, had no choice but to enact requirements aiming at creating more transparency with regard to the ownership and control of limited by share companies. In this context, the widespread possibility for Swiss companies to issue bearer shares was particularly at stake. Switzerland inserted these…

Protection des données et nouvelles procédures de communication aux autorités fiscales et de surveillance étrangères

At a time when banking secrecy is shrinking, the lawmaker has decided to redefine the role of data protection in international cooperation procedures with regulatory and tax authorities. The law allows a supervised entity, typically a bank, to transmit confidential information to certain foreign authorities and organizations, but requires it to safeguard the rights of its clients and other third…

Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2016 / Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2016

Das Bankprivatrecht regelt diejenigen Rechtsbeziehungen der Bank, die ihre Grundlage im Privatrecht haben, wobei die vertragsrechtlichen Bindungen zwischen der Bank und ihren Kundinnen zum…

Les sanctions en matière d’obligation d’annonce des actionnaires (art. 697m CO)

The Federal Act of 12 December 2014 on the implementation of the revised recommendations 2012 of the ­Financial Action Task Force introduced in the Code of Obligations new provisions on transparency in force since 1^st of July 2015. Since that date, holders or ­purchasers of bearer shares and the beneficial owner of shares are bound by an obligation to report to the ­company (articles 697i and …

Conformité fiscale : obligations et responsabilité du client envers la banque

The responsibility of Swiss banks and other financial intermediaries in respect of their clients’ and client ­assets’ tax status have undergone a paradigmatic change. Banks need to manage their tax and criminal risks ­related to their clients. FATCA, the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), and the implementing Swiss legislation impose strict duties on banks (and ­almost none on their clients)…

Know Your Customer : Quo Vadis ?

Know your client (KYC) is now an essential due diligence requirement for all banking business. The concept only appeared relatively recently in legislation, however, in conjunction with increased efforts to combat organised crime and money laundering. For around 40 years, the scope and content of know your client has continued to expand, sometimes in stark contrast to other standards. This article…

Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2015 / Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2015

Cette chronique paraît six mois après la précédente (RSDA 2015 386) et figurera désormais chaque année dans le 2^e cahier de notre Revue. On aurait pu espérer que cette livraison-ci s’en…

L’affaire Sika : un exemple en faveur d’une approche économique des transferts d’actions soumis à l’agrément de la société

The ongoing litigation between the Swiss company Sika SA and the owners of its Swiss shareholder ­Schenker-Winkler Holding SA over the sale of the shares of the latter to the French group Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, a competitor of Sika SA, has attracted consi­d­erable media and public attention. When completed, this sale will give Compag­nie de Saint-Gobain the effective control over Sika SA…

Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2014–2015/Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2014–2015

Während sich auf der politischen Bühne langsam eine gewisse Entspannung rund um die unversteuerten Gelder auf Schweizer Bankkonten abzeichnet, ist die Rechtsprechung der vergangenen Berichtsperiode…

Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainable Development et Corporate ­Governance : quelles corrélations ?

Companies are not only members of civil society but are also integral and essential parties to the socio-economic context in which they develop. It is thus legitimate to wonder about their role and “societal” responsibility. The concept of corporate social responsibility is the idea that private companies are supposed to care not only about short-term profit in the interest of their shareholders…

L’extension du système de lutte contre le blanchiment d’argent aux infractions fiscales : Much Ado About (Almost) Nothing

On December 14, 2014, the Swiss Federal Parliament enacted a revision of the Swiss money laundering legislation in order to comply with the Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, as revised in February 2012. One of the issues addressed by the Act is the definition of new predicate offences relating to direct and indirect taxes. The discussion of this issue was controversial from the…

Towards Automatic Exchange of Information

This article describes the various steps that led towards automatic exchange of information as the global standard and the issues that remain to be solved. First, the various competing models of exchange information, such as Double Tax Treaty (DTT), TIEA’s, FATCA or UE Directives are described with a view to show how they interact between themselves. Second, the so-called Rubik Strategy is…

Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2014/Le droit des sociétés 2014

Das hervorstechende Ereignis im Berichtsjahr ist die schnelle und umfassende Konsolidierung der business judgement rule in der bundesgerichtlichen Rechtsprechung zur Organverantwortlichkeit (I.1)…