D-07-80

In its press release of 21 March 2025, the Federal Council reported on the results of the consultation procedure on the partial revision of the regulations on non-financial reporting and due diligence obligations for companies, which ended in October 2024. The Federal Council reaffirms its commitment to bringing Swiss law into line with international standards. However, in view of recent legislative developments in the EU, Swiss companies will have to wait before they know what will happen to the draft[...]

This year, the general meetings of public-interest companies meeting the criteria of Art. 964a para. 1 of the Swiss Code of Obligations will be asked to approve their reports on non-financial matters in accordance with Art. 964c para. 1 of the Swiss Code of Obligations. In this context, a controversy has arisen over the legal nature of the vote: on the one hand, Novartis and Roche have already organised a consultative vote, while on the other, the Ethos Foundation is[...]

At its meeting on 31 January 2024, the Federal Council adopted the amendments to the CISO and decided that the amendments to the CISA relating to the limited qualified investor fund (L-QIF), adopted on 17 December 2021, would enter into force. As a reminder, the L-QIF is a collective investment reserved for qualified investors within the meaning of the CISA that is not subject to approval or authorisation by FINMA (art. 118a CISA). It may take the form of a[...]

In its decision 4A_350/2023 of 21 November 2023, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court upheld a partial ruling by the Zurich Handelsgericht (HG190111-O), ordering an asset manager to account to a BVG/LPP pension fund for retrocessions received in connection with investments in target funds via two funds of funds. This commentary focuses on the question of the foundation's right to information regarding the retrocessions received by the fund manager (for a description of the facts and the issue of informed approval[...]