Dr Vera Naegeli and Marie-Cristine Kaptan discuss the evolving ESG legal field in Switzerland and how companies can abide by the new regulations. Overview of the Swiss Legal ESG Framework General overview The term ‘ESG’ as such does not exist in Swiss legislation. It may be interpreted in many different ways and encompass a diverse set of rules that are related to environmental, social or (corporate) governance matters. Laws on the protection of the environment (such as the Federal Act on the Protection of the Environment of 7 October 1983), on human rights and workers’ protection (ie, regard ..read more

2022 brought fresh challenges for the Swiss market, given the widespread instability in the global economy. Despite strong consumer spending and the removal of the last of the pandemic restrictions ensuring that economic growth has remained steady, the lingering aftershocks of the pandemic, war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis, mean official predictions for growth were cut to 2% by the end of 2022. Inflation stood at just under 3% last year and the Swiss National Bank opted to raise interest rates to 1% in December 2022, having only increased them to 0.5% a few months earlier. ‘The SN ..read more

The ever-changing legal and economic environment for insurers calls for experts with a solid background and comprehensive expertise in the field of insurance law, as well as a solution-oriented approach to the client’s needs. The insurance practice of Prager Dreifuss can look back on a longstanding tradition and unrivalled expertise in advising and representing insurers and reinsurers in all aspects of insurance law, and fields one of the largest insurance teams in Switzerland. The team is led by Christoph K. Graber who has repeatedly been named as a ‘Thought Leader’ and as Switzerland’s ‘mos ..read more

At the beginning of 2022, with the pandemic finally receding into recent memory, commentators would have been forgiven for foreseeing a more optimistic market outlook. However, any sighs of relief may have been premature, as the recovery from the pandemic has given way to fresh challenges in the form of the war in Ukraine, not to mention the resultant increasingly unsteady global economy. The Swiss economy largely retains the resilience it demonstrated during the Covid years – strong consumer spending and the removal of the last of the pandemic restrictions has helped ensure that economic gro ..read more

Insolvency and restructuring proceedings are intricate and complex. Practitioners must be able to combine legal knowledge, in particular in the areas of litigation, finance and transactions, with strategic, tactical and managerial skills to deliver positive results. PRAGER DREIFUSS has extensive experience and a longstanding tradition in insolvency and restructuring matters. In the wake of the financial crisis, we combined our finance and bankruptcy knowledge which enabled us to assist in complex project financing, also lately in a major multinational commodity project. Our attorneys regularl ..read more

When the world went into lockdown in March/ April 2020, everyone expected the worst for the economy: market crashes, sky-rocketing unemployment numbers and a wave of insolvencies. While it is safe to say that some countries struggled more than others, Switzerland weathered the crisis well, even exceeding pre-Covid-19 activity in some areas. One of the wealthiest countries in the world, Switzerland’s GDP has been on a steady increase and almost tripled in the last 20 years. Projections also show tangible growth from 2020 to 2021, underlining the fact that the pandemic had little to no impact o ..read more

Switzerland is often singled out as the prime model for a stable economy – apart from a temporary blip in 2009 following the global economic crisis, GDP growth has moved consistently upwards. The country’s strong employment figures and national debt position have only underlined its positive reputation even more. But when Covid-19 hit, not even Switzerland could roll with all the punches it had to take, and continue growing. That said, at the end of 2020 the economic activity was only 2% below its pre-crisis level – a strong bounceback, especially compared to other European countries. While S ..read more

After delivering his keynote address at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump immediately left to catch the plane home. En route to Air Force One, every bridge crossing the highway on which his limousine passed was closed, doing everything to sweep aside potential delays to his exit. Yet despite being the world’s most expensive country to live, few locals ever choose to emigrate from Switzerland – except perhaps to retire in warmer climates. And why would they? Swiss citizens enjoy a high living standard, low levels of inflation, unemployment and crime and enviable econom ..read more

State court litigation and private arbitration proceedings require practitioners to combine legal thoroughness and the management of evidence with strategic ingenuity. Understanding court processes, legal practice and tactical procedural advantages all add up to sound advice in contentious legal matters. Dispute resolution in all its appearances enjoys a long-standing tradition at Prager Dreifuss. Our attorneys represent parties before local state courts as well as administrative authorities. Debt collection and bankruptcy matters are strong areas of our practice, in particular in disput ..read more

As the eurozone economy slows down after six years of uninterrupted growth, Switzerland is an anxious spectator. Amid increased concerns among the EU27 over the potential impact of a disorderly Brexit and the halt to quantitative easing from the European Central Bank’s asset-purchasing programme, Europe’s big three are bracing themselves while Switzerland sits in the middle, watching intently. To the west, France endures its gilets jaunes; to the south, Italy faces a looming debt crisis with its banks. In the north, Germany has just avoided a technical recession and, like many of the other 18 ..read more