Suchergebnisse für sociétes

Konzernorganisationsrecht heute

The Swiss law of groups of companies is characterized by a scarcity of statutory rules, judicial pragmatism, and a flexible application of the rules by companies. Unusually, the density of statutory rules in this domain has decreased in recent years. In this article, the author summarizes the current status of the organizational law of groups of companies and takes a closer look at selected…

Les enjeux de la CSRD pour les entreprises suisses

The CSRD, which substantially expands the scope of companies forced to publish sustainability-related data, has a direct and indirect extraterritorial effect on Swiss companies. Size is not the only relevant criterion. Engaging with the EU market or with European companies can have (unexpected) implications. This worldwide impact is coupled with comprehensive and granular disclosures covering a…

Sustainable Purpose-Driven Enterprises

Social enterprises (in a broad sense), including those launched by social (or sustainable) entrepreneurs (or Sustainable Purpose-Driven Entities) are important players to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Developing a legal framework that allows them to prosper has been a priority of the European Commission since 2010. These entities have recently been endorsed by the United…

The Normative Effects of ESG Expectations on Companies and their Directors

Most companies face a growing number of environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations arising not only from their shareholders, but also from a wide array of stakeholders such as clients, investors, States, financial institutions and not-for-profit organisations. Even though a significant number of these expectations are not imposed by hard or soft law, they cannot be disregarded in…

Editorial

Le monde évolue plus vite que le droit. L’entrée en vigueur de la « grande » réforme du droit des sociétés aurait pu laisser penser qu’une législation plus en phase avec son temps permettrait de…

Actions de loyauté : une fausse bonne idée

Over its summer session 2018, the Swiss National Council adopted the possibility for companies limited by shares (sociétés anonymes/Aktiengesellschaften) to include in their articles of association certain financial privileges to the benefit of shareholders registered for at least two consecutive years in the share register (loyalty shares). This article presents the legislative work in progress…

ESG Considerations and Public Benefit Corporations

There appears to be an international demand among investors for for-profit enterprises that commit to a social or environmental purpose and consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects. Inspired by U.S. legislation, EU and other state legislators have enacted statutes with new legal forms of business organizations – so-called benefit corporations – or are considering to do so in…

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 Gesellschaftsrecht 2022/2023 | Le droit des sociétés 2022/2023

Im berücksichtigten Zeitraum vom 1. April 2022 bis zum 31. März 2023 wurden wenige Urteile gefällt und nur ein Bruchteil davon wurden veröffentlicht bzw. zur Veröffentlichung vorgesehen. Trotzdem…

Alea iacta est: keine erleichterte Fusion bei indirekten Beteiligungsverhältnissen

Alleinaktionär der A AG (Beschwerdeführerin, nachfolgend: übernehmende Gesellschaft) ist B. Die Gesellschafter der C GmbH (nachfolgend: übertragende Gesellschaft) sind B (60% des Stammkapitals) und…

La banque et le créancier prêteur face à l’insolvabilité de l’emprunteur : moyens préventifs et curatifs

In a contractual relationship, a bank, or more generally a lender, on the one hand, and a borrower on the other, harmoniously blend, as long as the borrower complies with the repayments’ obligations arising from the loan agreement. However, in such an agreement, risk lies primarily on the lender. Indeed, as soon as the money has been made available, the lender takes the default’s risk. This…

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…

The Materiality of Sustainability Information under Capital Markets Law

This paper explores the legal concept of the materiality of sustainability-related information under Swiss capital markets law. References to international standards, as well as EU and U.S. provisions, are also made with a view to highlighting the increasing importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects in the law and regulation of capital markets. We primarily focus on the…

Cyberattaque et ransomware: risques juridiques à payer et assurabilité des rançons

Legal risks of paying ransom following a ransomware attack need to be clarified, as such attacks are constant­ly increasing and victims always face the same dilemma: whether to pay the ransom or not? Insurability of ransomware needs also to be clarified, as some cyber insurance companies offer to cover the risk of ransomware without knowing whether such clauses are really insurable. This…

Klimawandel

Climate litigation against companies has increased significantly in the past couple of years, not only in the United States, but also in Europe. At the same time, regulation with respect to climate change is developing rapidly, such that it may be difficult for companies to identify which laws apply to them and how they should address the legal risks relating to climate change and climate…

Editorial

Die von den Eidgenössischen Räten am 19. Juni 2020 verabschiedete Revision des Aktienrechts tritt auf den 1. Januar 2023 vollständig in Kraft. Im vorliegenden Heft werden verschiedene Kernthemen der…

Eigentümerstrukturen von Schweizer Aktiengesellschaften

The ownership structure of a corporation is in many respects a crucial determinant from a corporate governance perspective. In finance and business economics, a large variety of theoretical and empirical work has focused on corporate ownership structures and their implications. In the legal field, however, the topic has been rather neglected so far. This article provides an empirical study of…

Insichgeschäfte von Mitgliedern des Verwaltungsrates

Die börsenkotierte Z. AG (Beschwerdegegnerin) hält in ihren Statuten fest, dass der Verwaltungsrat aus drei oder mehr Mitgliedern besteht. Dieser kann die Geschäftsführung nach Massgabe des…

Auskunfts- und Einsichtsrecht des Aktionärs – Durchzogene Bilanz der Aktienrechtsrevision

The revision of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) concerning the joint stock corporation – which will come into force on 1 January 2023 – substantially alters the shareholders’ rights to ask for information about the affairs of the company and to inspect its ledgers and files. Compared to the present legal situation, which only entitles a shareholder to obtain information during the course of a…

Marge de fluctuation du capital (art. 653s ss nCO) : de la sauvegarde des créanciers et des actionnaires, en particulier lors de l’acquisition par la SA de ses propres actions

As of the entry into force, on 1^st January 2023, of the revised Swiss Limited Companies Law (« Aktiengesell­schaft », « société anonyme »), the margin of fluctuation of capital (« Kapitalband », « marge de fluctuation du capital ») will allow the general assembly of shareholders to authorise the board of directors to increase or reduce the share capital within a certain interval during a maximum…

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…

Keine stillschweigende Verlängerung von Verwaltungsratsmandaten

Die B. AG (Gesuchstellerin, Beschwerdegegnerin) bezweckt die Vermarktung von Rohrverbindungs­elementen im Bereich der Fernwärme und Klimatechnik, im Anlagenbau sowie in der Gas- und Ölindustrie. Zur…

Sanctions Américaines: Extraterritorialité et Risques Bancaires

A Swiss bank operating in the US must comply with applicable US laws. Difficulties may arise from the „off-shore“ application of US sanctions. The US sanctions regime is well known¹, especially through the publications of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)² and through the calls for caution issued by the banking supervisory authority³. This contribution provides an update on the…

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…

Editorial

Les articles du présent cahier sont consacrés à la digitalisation et l’innovation sous leurs multiples facettes. La variété des thèmes abordés reflète le caractère transversal des questions…

Questions de responsabilité civile et contractuelle soulevées par la distribution de „logiciels libres“ (open source)

Since the 1980s, the free and open software («FOSS») movement promotes the open exchange of software and of its source code to disrupt the limitations brought upon by the copyrightability of software. The recent emergence of public repositories such as GitHub has however impacted the distribution model of FOSS software – as many of them can now be downloaded and operated freely by their users,…

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…

Das Finanzmarktaufsichtsrecht vom vierten Quartal 2020 bis ins vierte Quartal 2021

Nachhaltige Finanzanlagen erfreuen sich stark steigender Nachfrage.¹ Wo viel Business ist, ist der Missbrauch oftmals nicht weit. Angesichts der derzeitigen hohen Intransparenz, ob und inwiefern einzelne Finanzanlagen gewisse Nachhaltigkeitskriterien erfüllen, hat der Finanzminister schon öffentlich gewarnt: «Die Gefahr von Greenwashing ist gross.»² Dementsprechend besteht seitens der…

Die Rolle der FINMA bei Vergütungen in Banken und Versicherungen

Compensation and remuneration schemes in financial institutions always have been, and still are, a hot potato. The past decade has been particularly eventful in terms of both regulation and supervision, not only in Switzerland, but also abroad. Against this backdrop, this article aims to discuss the role of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, FINMA, with regard to compensation in…

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…

Editorial

L’essor de la digitalisation touche tous les secteurs de la vie quotidienne et de l’économie. L’accès aux données, leur protection, leur utilisation notamment pour le développement de l’intelligence…

Regulierung von künstlicher Intelligenz für FinTech-Anwendungen

New methods of artificial intelligence represent one of the greatest promises and most prospective developments of digitalisation. Artificial intelligence has already enabled numerous innovative applications in the areas of image recognition, medicine, language and mobility, and it is also increasingly being used in the financial market, on which this article focuses. In addition to great…

Intelligence artificielle: licence libre et gouvernance collective des données à travers l’altruisme des données et les data trusts

Data access is central for the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Data may be however subject to a multitude of rights and actors (e.g. copyrighted works or personal data posted on social media or collected through captcha and used for AI training purposes), leading to a fragmented legal framework and legal frictions. This contribution explores how to apply open and free licenses to all…

Intelligence artificielle: la titularité des données

Data are at the heart of AI systems. Without data, AI systems are valueless. Data come into play at different phases, both at the input level (training sets, validating sets, testing sets), as well as at the output level. Although the Proposal for AI Regulation released on 21 April 2021 by the European Commission offers a promising regulatory framework as to the governance related to the design…

Editorial

Gesellschaftsrecht lebt von Innovationen und bringt selbst Innovationen hervor. Die Aufhebung der Sachübernahmevorschriften – trotz Herausforderungen in der praktischen Handhabung – war im Zuge der …

Die Abschaffung der Sachübernahmevorschriften im neuen Aktienrecht

Under current Swiss corporate law the acquisition of assets from a shareholder intended prior the formation of the company is subject to the same rules as a payment of subscribed capital by contribution in kind. An (intended) acquisition of assets occurs when the company intends or undertakes to acquire certain assets of its shareholders or of a person closely related to a shareholder soon after…

Behandlung der Beiträge der Gesellschafter im Rahmen der Liquidation der einfachen Gesellschaft und ihre Beteiligung am Liquidationsergebnis

The contributions which the partners of a simple partnership must make in order to achieve the partnership’s purpose may be of different sizes and also of different natures. If the partners do not regulate in the articles of partnership how their contributions are to be treated in case of liquidation of the simple partnership, the statutory rule is applied. This, however, is only very summary,…

Sociétés hybrides, entreprises sociales, B-Corp: Le droit suisse est-il approprié?

Entrepreneurs have to increasingly navigate in a world where they cannot ignore their accountability towards the SDGs and society in general. Companies in fact are expected to consider the interests of all stakeholders, and management is required to adopt a long-term and sustainable vision, in which making profits goes hand in hand with the necessity to create a positive impact. This trend is…

Corporate Governance et liberté d’organisation

The question of limits to contractual freedom in corporate law is intensively discussed in connection with corporate governance. In that context, the tension between authority and accountability of the board of directors and the best way to address this issue in corporate law are two of the most controversial topics. Over these last years, the trend in almost all jurisdictions has been to…

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…

Le compliance officer face au risque pénal découlant du dispositif anti-blanchiment

In the financial sector, the function of compliance officer is closely linked to the fight against money laun­dering, which is one of the main risks for the Swiss financial centre. The profession has important responsibilities in this field and breaches of its obligations can lead to (administrative) criminal sanctions, in particular for money laundering or violation of the duty to report a…

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…

Das Vorrecht auf Dividende bei Vorzugsaktien und Vorzugspartizipationsscheinen

Die B. AG ist eine Aktiengesellschaft mit Sitz in Bern, deren Aktienkapital von CHF 750 000 in 180 660 Namenaktien mit je einem Nennwert von CHF 3 sowie 693 400 als Stimmrechtsaktien ausgestaltete…

Aussergerichtliche Sanierung einer Aktiengesellschaft

Die im Baugewerbe tätige A. AG befand sich seit längerem in wirtschaftlichen Schwierigkeiten. Gestützt auf ein Stillhalteabkommen mit den Banken B., C., D., E. und F. verfügte sie über…

CSR-Berichterstattung Ante Portas: Indirekter Gegenvorschlag zur Konzernverantwortungsinitiative

In a popular vote held in November 2020, the controversially debated «Swiss Responsible Business Initiative» was rejected. As a matter of constitutional procedure, the Parliament’s Counterproposal from 2019 will now automatically come into force. Unlike the Initiative, the Counterproposal refrains from introducing a foreign direct liability of Swiss businesses for infringing human rights or…

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…

Konzernverantwortungsinitiative: Was ändert sich bei einem JA?

The highly debated Swiss Responsible Business Initiative will be put to public vote in November 2020. If the electorate supports the position of the Initiative, a provision titled «Responsibility of Businesses» will be introduced into the Swiss Constitution. According to this provision companies seated in Switzerland would be required to respect internationally recognized human rights and…

Editorial

Das Gesellschaftsrecht lebt: Die Aktienrechtsrevision ist abgeschlossen, doch ist nach der Revision vor der Revision. Bereits absehbar sind weitere Diskussionen um die Loyalitätsaktien, die aus der…

Prüfungsrecht und -pflicht der AG in Bezug auf das Aktieneigentum ihrer Aktionäre, v.a. auch im Zusammenhang mit den neuen Vorschriften des Global Forum-Gesetzes

In the recent past the ownership (title) due diligence in share deals, i.e. the due diligence regarding the seller’s unencumbered ownership in the sold shares, became more and more important in practice, as experience shows that in a high percentage of cases there are se­rious issues in this respect. This leads to the question on the scope of the examination rights and examination obligations of…