Commercial leases and the letting of ‘bare’ premises: an overview
Although not expressly regulated by the Swiss Code of Obligations, the lease of ‘bare’ or ‘raw’ premises is becoming increasingly common in commercial transactions. What do we mean by this and what do we need to bear in mind when entering into such a contract? A. What is a ‘gross’ premises lease? A lease of […]
Christophe Wilhelm obtained the title of Certificate of Advanced Studies HES_SO in Mergers, Acquisitions and Transfers of Companies
Christophe Wilhelm successfully completed the HES-SO continuing education programme on 3 September 2021 and obtained the title of Certificate of Advanced Studies HES_SO in Mergers, Acquisitions and Transfers of Companies. This education program, over a period of time of 18 months, divided in 5 modules, plus a full study case with a written final report, […]
Brexit – what consequences for the Lugano Convention?
The Lugano Convention governs the jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters in cases between parties domiciled or having their seat in different Member States. The Lugano Convention not only determines the jurisdiction of the authorities, but above all facilitates the recognition and enforcement in Switzerland of civil judgments rendered in […]
Some details on the different modalities for the distribution of dividends by a corporation under Swiss law
Dividends can be broadly classified into the following categories: ordinary dividends, extraordinary dividends, interim dividends and dividend advances. What is the legality under Swiss law of these various dividend distributions? In any case, the following basic rules must be respected: The special case of extraordinary, interim and advance dividends: As defined above, extraordinary dividends are […]
To have a contract signed at a time when the signatories are all telecommuting? Yes, it’s possible!
“It will be difficult to get this contract signed in the next few days, as the person in charge is not in the office. The signatories are not all here and Mr. X, the only one who can sign this contract, will be back next week.” Such comments are no longer relevant. These long-standing difficulties […]
Shareholders must negotiate the right to obtain information
We pointed out previously that shareholders do not benefit from an extensive right to be kept informed of the affairs of the company in which they are shareholders. Article 697 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) only gives them that right to a limited extent, i.e. for the affairs of the company, but only […]