D-01-22

Having already had its case dismissed in 2015, the FTA is attempting to secure a change in practice. Can the contact information of the requesting authority and its staff be systematically kept confidential from the taxpayer? This is the legal question of principle submitted to the Federal Supreme Court, to which the Court responded in the negative (2C_157/2024). In the context of a tax administrative assistance proceeding initiated by Germany, the taxpayer in question objects to the disclosure of information[...]

The grounds for the Federal Supreme Court (FSC) judgment 2E_5/2024, delivered following the main hearing on 7 October 2025, were published on 2 September. Delivered by the same panel as in the related case 2E_1/2024 (commented on in Béguin, cdbf.ch/1437), this decision once again rejects the State’s liability in the Credit Suisse/UBS merger. The case pitted the Confederation against a private individual claiming damages for the loss in value suffered on his Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) following the emergency[...]

The provision of certain information about a structured product is not sufficient to establish an investment advisory relationship, particularly if the client has in-depth knowledge and experience in the field of investment. In the absence of an advisory relationship, the choice of the issuer of the structured product within the group does not give rise to a conflict of interest (TF 4A_503/2025 of 17 June 2026). At the end of 2005, a company opened a custody account with the Geneva[...]

When drafted in broad terms, a compliance clause also covers foreign regulations and sanctions, even when Swiss law has been chosen as the governing law. The bank may rely on such a clause to freeze the relevant assets on the grounds that it must comply with foreign sanctions, even after the termination of the banking relationship (Federal Supreme Court 4A_455/2025 of May 21, 2026). In the case at hand, the client company holds cash accounts with a Swiss bank, a[...]