B-17-06 FINMA Circ. 17/6

The Geneva Court of Justice recently handed down a ruling on international mutual assistance in civil matters (ACJC/483/2024), in which it refused to consider a letter rogatory as abusive and/or likely to undermine Swiss sovereignty or security (art. 12 al. 1 let. b CLaH70). Alice and Bernard are nationals of State F and have refugee status in Switzerland due to judicial and extra-judicial persecution by the authorities of F. In 2012, F requested mutual assistance in criminal matters from Switzerland[...]

In a ruling 1C_543/2023 of 7 March 2024, which is intended for publication, the Federal Supreme Court (FSC) confirms its case law concerning the suspension of mutual assistance and the maintenance of sequestration of funds seized in Switzerland in execution of a request submitted by Russia prior to the aggression in Ukraine. It extended the suspension to a sequestration that had already lasted eight years and ruled out the possibility of invoking Article 2 EIMP. The Federal Criminal Court (FCT)[...]

If the principle of speciality is violated as a result of administrative assistance, does the person concerned have a right to have the Federal Council intervene with the requesting state? In a ruling 2C_236/2022, intended for publication, the Federal Supreme Court clarifies whether positive obligations against Switzerland can result from arts. 8 and 13 ECHR. In 2011, FINMA granted administrative assistance to the French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), which requested the transmission of documents relating to transactions carried out[...]

In its ruling 4A_389/2022 of March 14, 2023, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court examined a request for mutual assistance in civil matters, in which a bank was asked to provide documents relating to a client. In 2012, the MPC opened criminal proceedings against the former CEO of a state-owned institution in Y for money laundering and fraudulent mismanagement. Judging that there was a risk that the documents obtained in the criminal proceedings might be passed on to State Y, the[...]