Suchergebnisse für sachliche Zuständigkeit

Schiedsklauseln in den Statuten von Schweizer Aktiengesellschaften und GmbH

The Swiss legislator clarified that the articles of associations of Swiss companies limited by shares and limited liability companies may include arbitration clauses. This note first discusses issues such as arbitrability, validity and scope of statutory arbitration clauses, i.e., issues arising in the context of arbitration clauses and arbitration agreements alike. It then discusses an issue…

Informationskonzept im neuen Aktienrecht

The information asymmetry between shareholders and managers calls for the implementation of an efficient information concept within stock corporations. In the course of the Swiss Stock Corporation Reform of 2020, the former information concept was partially revised. This article takes a critical look at the revised provisions and puts them in context.

Das Kapitalband

The revision of the Swiss law on companies limited by shares, which came into force on January 1, 2023, introduced the capital band («Kapitalband»). This new legal institution leads to more flexibility for the companies with regard to equity financing by giving the shareholders the possibility to authorize the board of directors to increase and decrease the share capital without a prior…

Absage einzelner Traktanden einer GV oder einer GV insgesamt

Mit Schreiben vom 6. Mai 2020 lud der Verwaltungsrat (VR) der A AG (Beklagte, Beschwerdeführerin, nachfolgend: A AG) die Aktionäre zur ordentlichen Generalversammlung (GV) auf den 18. Juni 2020 ein…

Digitale Generalversammlungen und Verwaltungsratssitzungen

The 19 June 2020 revision of the provisions on the limited by shares company contains various facilitations for the use of technical means in the conduct of general meetings and board meetings. What are the concrete options available and what are the practical implications of these innovations? What do banks need to consider from a prudential perspective? After an overview of the digitization in…

Aktienrechtsrevision und Handelsregister

The biggest change in registration is probably the move away from registration as an anti-proxy transaction by introducing various proxy options. With the revision of stock corporation law, the documentary evidence principle was retained in principle. Pursuant to Art. 937 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, the Commercial Registry Office must verify, both at the time of incorporation and in the…

Tätigkeitsbericht und Praxis der Aufsichtskommission zur Sorgfaltspflicht der Banken für die Jahre 2017 bis 2021

Die Vereinbarung über die Standesregeln zur Sorgfaltspflicht der Banken (VSB) umschreibt die Sorgfaltspflichten, welche die Banken bei der Eröffnung und Führung von Kundenbeziehungen zu beachten haben. Mit der Unterzeichnung der VSB verpflichten sich die Schweizer Banken gegenüber der Schweizerischen Bankiervereinigung (SBVg), ihre Vertragspartner zu identifizieren, die Kontrollinhaber und den…

Salärgovernance und neues Aktienrecht

In determining the compensation of directors and top management, the board of directors of public companies is faced with a structural conflict of interest. The aim to mitigate this conflict through an appropriate design of the procedure forms the essence of the say-on-pay rules introduced by the Swiss electorate in a public vote in 2013 and implemented on a transitional basis in the Ordinance…

Moderne Formen der Generalversammlung im revidierten Aktienrecht 2020

The revision in 2020 of the Swiss law on companies limited by shares (Aktiengesellschaft) as created the legal basis for modernizing the annual general meeting (AGM) of shareholders of limited companies, also making it more flexible. Today’s electronic means of communication have opened up new possibilities for how AGMs can be conducted. Especially in large corporations, but also in smaller…

Statutarische Gerichtsstandsklauseln

Jurisdiction clauses are ubiquitous in commercial contracts. They are less common in the articles of association of Swiss corporations. However, our analysis shows that jurisdiction clauses are a helpful and effective in­strument for Swiss corporations, especially in an international context. The effects are especially pronounced under the Lugano Convention, because according to case law of the…

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 Kapitalband im neuen Aktienrecht

On June 19, 2020, the National Council and the Council of States adopted the revision of the Swiss law on companies limited by shares. This article deals with the capital band («Kapitalband») that introduces the possibility for shareholders to authorize the board of directors to increase and reduce the share capital without previous resolution by the general meeting. In line with an…

Die Pflichten des Verwaltungsrates bei drohender Zahlungsunfähigkeit nach neuem Aktienrecht

On 19 June 2020 the Swiss parliament adopted the final text of the new provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations relating to the revised law on companies limited by shares. Among other things, the relevant provisions cover situations of financial distress and apply to companies limited by shares as well as to other company forms. Aside of the pre-existing legal provisions governing the capital…

Praktische Problemfelder und Lösungsansätze in Bezug auf die «FinTech»-Bewilligungsvoraussetzungen von Art. 1b BankG

The piece at hand addresses in depth the FinTech license according to art. 1b of the Swiss Banking Act (BA) that is in force since January 1^st 2019. The FinTech license provides for a new category of a regulatory status for FinTech institutions that do not offer typical banking activities, but whose business touches certain elements of banking. It aims to foster innovation in the financial market…

Kartellrechtliche Fragen bei der Gründung eines Joint Ventures

Opening up new markets or pursuing major projects can often only be achieved with partners, which is why companies form joint ventures. When planning and implementing such cooperation projects, economic and contractual considerations are in practice the main focus. However, the influence of antitrust law on this form of cooperation should not be underestimated. The relevance of antitrust law is…

Konzept und Praxis der aktienrechtlichen Sanierung

This essay deals with capital loss and overindebtedness and the related duties of the Board of Directors according to the current Swiss Code of Obligations. Furthermore, a look is taken at the future Swiss restructuring law. It has been concluded that Swiss restructuring law does little credit to its name as most restructuring proceedings end in bankruptcy of the respective company. One possible…

Aktuelle Rechtsprechung zur Haftung im Konzern

Federal court rulings on liability of the parent company in a Group have developed further since the classic decisions of the nineties in the matters of Swissair and Motor-Columbus. This article provides an overview of the handed down by the Federal Supreme Court over the past ten years. The article shows that the Court did not decide these cases based on principles of director’s liability,…

Compliance-Anforderungen für Schweizer Asset Manager alternativer ­Investmentfonds

The European Directive 2011/61/EU (AIFMD) was a reaction of the European legislator to the financial ­crisis of 2007/2008. The Directive aims to provide for a harmonized and stringent regulatory and supervisory framework for the activities within the EU of all Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM). Due to its fund manager focused approach, AIFMD imposes authorization requirements and…

Finanznotlagerecht

The Bill of 2016 for a revision of the Swiss Corporation Law addresses, with new and quite lengthy dispositions, the thorny problem of corporate reorganizations in the event of upcoming financial difficulties. On the one hand, the classical and quite formal equity-related ­approach of European Continental Law to prevent ­«unlawful trading» is maintained, i.e. the Board’s duty to take immediate…

Das Aktienkapital im Entwurf zur Aktienrechtsrevision

On November 23, 2016, the Federal Council published its proposal for a revised law on companies limited by shares. This article deals with the share capital, one of the key aspects of the proposed revision. First, it addresses the specific characteristic of Swiss law, according to which shares have a nominal value. Second, the article analyzes how the procedures of capital changes are regulated in…

Vinkulierung an der Bruchstelle zwischen kotierter Gesellschaft und nicht kotierten Aktionären

This article contains a selective analysis of the current system of share transfer restrictions (Vinkulierung), in particular with regard to the scope of application of the relevant provisions in relation to direct and indirect investments in publicly held companies, that has raised public interest in connection with the “Sika”-case. The authors illustrate the current state of established…

Leuchttürme oder Untiefen?

Sometimes, courts must remain silent for many years on important questions, simply for lack of cases, until we find ourselves suddenly confronted with unexpected decisions. This happened with the possibilities corporations had to deal in their by-laws with blockage situa­tions in the shareholder meeting. The Federal Tribunal overturned last year a decades old rule enabling companies to attribute…

Stimmrechtsverhalten von institutionellen Anlegern, insbesondere ­Pensionskassen

The initiative against excessive remuneration gives additional powers to the general meeting of shareholders, in particular where the salaries of mangers are concern­ed. A less known novelty is that it also obliges some of the institutional investors, Swiss pension funds, to exercise their rights as shareholders in the “interests of their members” and to publicly communicate the manner in which…

Aktienrechtliche Notariatspraxis: Frequently Asked Questions

Within the context of a general meeting of shareholders, the notary public assumes various duties. He/she counsels and informs his/her clients in preparation of the meeting. During the meeting he/she is in charge of preparing the notarized deed and minutes all the statements and decisions of the parties. The notary public does not get involved in the content of the meeting but he/she may…