Droit international et droit des étrangers

Editorial

FIDLEG, FINIG, Anlegerschutz, Kundenberatung und internationale Harmonisierung sind gewichtige Kern­themen der neueren Finanzmarktregulierung. Die Eidgenössischen Räte haben die beiden neuen Bundesgesetze FIDLEG und FINIG am 15. Juni 2018 verabschiedet. Zurzeit läuft die Vernehmlassung zu den Ausführungsverordnungen. Das ganze Regulierungspaket wird voraussichtlich am 1. Januar 2020 in Kraft…

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…

Strafprozessuale Kontosperren bei ausstehenden Lombardkrediten – Ein Problem für die kreditgebende Bank

Lombard credits are a widespread financial instrument. They may however lead to problems for the lender, usually a bank, if the assets pledged as a security for the loan become the subject of a seizure by criminal authorities. A seizure renders it impossible for the bank to realize the assets if the borrower is in default with repayment obligations. In order to have the seizure lifted, the bank…

Towards the European Banking Union: Ins versus Outs

The Banking Union is going to change the structure and organization of banking and financial markets in Europe. It will also bring about noticeable changes in the interaction of these sectors with other parts of our economies, and thus their functioning. Most recent commentary has focussed on the direct, immediate impact of a new Single Supervisor setting up business. Whilst important, the long…

Europareport

Zur Vereinheitlichung der Praxis der nationalen Gerichte in der EU bei der Bemessung von Schäden, die mittelbaren Kunden eines rechtswidrigen Kartells entstanden sein mögen, will die Europäische Kommission eine weitere Hilfestellung leisten. Derzeit veröffentlicht ist der Entwurf der EU-Kommission für «Leitlinien für die nationalen Gerichte zur Schätzung des Teils der auf den mittelbaren Abnehmer…

Validité et efficacité de la clause shotgun en droit suisse

A shotgun clause establishes a mechanism intended to resolve deadlocks in companies with two shareholders with equal stakes. It enables one of the two shareholders to trigger a procedure which will ultimately result in the purchase of all the shares at a fair price. The offeror initiates the procedure by proposing a certain price for the shares. The offeree then decides whether to sell its shares…

Contracts on Digital Content in Europe: Balancing between ­Author-Protective Copyright Policies and Consumer Policies

The online distribution of digital content is generally based on a chain of contractual relationships that can frequently consist of an upstream relationship between an author and a supplier, and a downstream relationship between the supplier and the consumer. Protected digital content transactions are thus potentially subject to two distinct sets of rules, i.e. copyright and consumer protection…

Europareport

Mit zwei Urteilen vom 15. Dezember 2016 hat das Gericht der Europäischen Union (nachfolgend: «Gericht» oder «EuG») die Anfechtungsklagen der Unternehmen Infineon Technologies AG (nachfolgend: «In­fineon») und Koninklijke Philips NV und Philips France (nachfolgend: «Philips») im Smartcard-­Chips-Kar­­tellfall abgewiesen (Rs. T-758/14 und Rs. T-762/14).

Relevance of WTO Law for Financial Services Lessons from “Argentina – Financial Services”

In the past debates about financial markets regulations the fact that most countries are Member States of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was often neglected. Through its recent decision “Argentina – Financial Services” the WTO Dispute Settlement Body now shifted the focus to the impact of WTO law on financial services. Even if very concrete findings have not been given, the assessment of the…

The Extraterritorial Application of U.S. Financial Services Regulation

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeks to regulate non-U.S. domiciled financial firms when U.S. investors’ interests are affected. In 2010, in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the circumstances when extraterritorial regulation is appropriate. Although most articles about the Morrison decision focus attention on when the SEC can sue non-U.S. firms for…