-
- Art. 5a FC
- Art. 6 FC
- Art. 10 FC
- Art. 16 FC
- Art. 17 FC
- Art. 20 FC
- Art. 22 FC
- Art. 29a FC
- Art. 30 FC
- Art. 32 FC
- Art. 42 FC
- Art. 43 FC
- Art. 43a FC
- Art. 55 FC
- Art. 56 FC
- Art. 60 FC
- Art. 68 FC
- Art. 75b FC
- Art. 77 FC
- Art. 96 para. 2 lit. a FC
- Art. 110 FC
- Art. 117a FC
- Art. 118 FC
- Art. 123b FC
- Art. 136 FC
- Art. 166 FC
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- Art. 11 CO
- Art. 12 CO
- Art. 50 CO
- Art. 51 CO
- Art. 84 CO
- Art. 143 CO
- Art. 144 CO
- Art. 145 CO
- Art. 146 CO
- Art. 147 CO
- Art. 148 CO
- Art. 149 CO
- Art. 150 CO
- Art. 701 CO
- Art. 715 CO
- Art. 715a CO
- Art. 734f CO
- Art. 785 CO
- Art. 786 CO
- Art. 787 CO
- Art. 788 CO
- Transitional provisions to the revision of the Stock Corporation Act of June 19, 2020
- Art. 808c CO
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- Art. 2 PRA
- Art. 3 PRA
- Art. 4 PRA
- Art. 6 PRA
- Art. 10 PRA
- Art. 10a PRA
- Art. 11 PRA
- Art. 12 PRA
- Art. 13 PRA
- Art. 14 PRA
- Art. 15 PRA
- Art. 16 PRA
- Art. 17 PRA
- Art. 19 PRA
- Art. 20 PRA
- Art. 21 PRA
- Art. 22 PRA
- Art. 23 PRA
- Art. 24 PRA
- Art. 25 PRA
- Art. 26 PRA
- Art. 27 PRA
- Art. 29 PRA
- Art. 30 PRA
- Art. 31 PRA
- Art. 32 PRA
- Art. 32a PRA
- Art. 33 PRA
- Art. 34 PRA
- Art. 35 PRA
- Art. 36 PRA
- Art. 37 PRA
- Art. 38 PRA
- Art. 39 PRA
- Art. 40 PRA
- Art. 41 PRA
- Art. 42 PRA
- Art. 43 PRA
- Art. 44 PRA
- Art. 45 PRA
- Art. 46 PRA
- Art. 47 PRA
- Art. 48 PRA
- Art. 49 PRA
- Art. 50 PRA
- Art. 51 PRA
- Art. 52 PRA
- Art. 53 PRA
- Art. 54 PRA
- Art. 55 PRA
- Art. 56 PRA
- Art. 57 PRA
- Art. 58 PRA
- Art. 59a PRA
- Art. 59b PRA
- Art. 59c PRA
- Art. 62 PRA
- Art. 63 PRA
- Art. 67 PRA
- Art. 67a PRA
- Art. 67b PRA
- Art. 75 PRA
- Art. 75a PRA
- Art. 76 PRA
- Art. 76a PRA
- Art. 90 PRA
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- Vorb. zu Art. 1 FADP
- Art. 1 FADP
- Art. 2 FADP
- Art. 3 FADP
- Art. 5 lit. f und g FADP
- Art. 6 Abs. 6 and 7 FADP
- Art. 7 FADP
- Art. 10 FADP
- Art. 11 FADP
- Art. 12 FADP
- Art. 14 FADP
- Art. 15 FADP
- Art. 19 FADP
- Art. 20 FADP
- Art. 22 FADP
- Art. 23 FADP
- Art. 25 FADP
- Art. 26 FADP
- Art. 27 FADP
- Art. 31 para. 2 lit. e FADP
- Art. 33 FADP
- Art. 34 FADP
- Art. 35 FADP
- Art. 38 FADP
- Art. 39 FADP
- Art. 40 FADP
- Art. 41 FADP
- Art. 42 FADP
- Art. 43 FADP
- Art. 44 FADP
- Art. 44a FADP
- Art. 45 FADP
- Art. 46 FADP
- Art. 47 FADP
- Art. 47a FADP
- Art. 48 FADP
- Art. 49 FADP
- Art. 50 FADP
- Art. 51 FADP
- Art. 54 FADP
- Art. 57 FADP
- Art. 58 FADP
- Art. 60 FADP
- Art. 61 FADP
- Art. 62 FADP
- Art. 63 FADP
- Art. 64 FADP
- Art. 65 FADP
- Art. 66 FADP
- Art. 67 FADP
- Art. 69 FADP
- Art. 72 FADP
- Art. 72a FADP
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- Art. 2 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 3 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 4 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 5 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 6 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 7 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 8 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 9 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 11 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 12 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 25 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 29 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 32 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 33 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 34 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
CODE OF OBLIGATIONS
FEDERAL LAW ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
LUGANO CONVENTION
CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE
FEDERAL ACT ON POLITICAL RIGHTS
CIVIL CODE
FEDERAL ACT ON CARTELS AND OTHER RESTRAINTS OF COMPETITION
FEDERAL ACT ON INTERNATIONAL MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS
DEBT ENFORCEMENT AND BANKRUPTCY ACT
FEDERAL ACT ON DATA PROTECTION
SWISS CRIMINAL CODE
CYBERCRIME CONVENTION
- I. General
- II. Demarcation from summary examination pursuant to Art. 78 para. 2 IMAC
- III. Preliminary examination
- IV. Positive preliminary examination
- V. Negative preliminary examination
- VI. Party rights and legal remedies
- Bibliography
I. General
1The procedural provision of Art. 80 IMAC applies after a request for mutual assistance has been received by the competent implementing authority directly or after summary examination by the FOJ within the meaning of Art. 78 para. 2 IMAC. Par. 1 obliges the executing authority to conduct a prima facie analysis of the request for mutual assistance. This is to ensure that all the conditions for mutual assistance are met before ordering mutual assistance measures that may interfere with the rights of the persons concerned. Par. 2 sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of inadequate requests for mutual assistance.
2 The addressee of Art. 80 IMAC is the authority that conducts the mutual assistance proceedings. In practice, these are in particular cantonal public prosecutors' offices (Art. 55 para. 1 Code of Criminal Procedure), the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland or administrative criminal authorities (Art. 17 para. 4 and Art. 79 para. 2 IMAC) and the FOJ in cases under Art. 79a IMAC.
3For mutual legal assistance with the USA, Art. 10 FSCA-RVUS contains a similar provision.
II. Demarcation from summary examination pursuant to Art. 78 para. 2 IMAC
4The summary examination pursuant to Art. 78 para. 2 IMAC takes place before the preliminary examination pursuant to Art. 80 para. 1 IMAC and is carried out by the FOJ. In practice, the FOJ subjects all requests for mutual assistance that it receives to summary examination - even if direct communication would have been possible. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that the specialist authority separates out requests for mutual assistance that clearly cannot be complied with on the basis of the files. At the same time, the authority responsible for executing the request for mutual assistance is identified so that the request for mutual assistance can be forwarded or delegated to it - if the FOJ does not execute the request itself. The examination density of the preliminary examination pursuant to Art. 80 para. 1 IMAC is higher than that of the summary examination pursuant to Art. 78 para. 2 IMAC, although there is no clear demarcation - not least because of these fuzzy contours, the FOJ has a great deal of discretion in the summary examination.
III. Preliminary examination
5The request for mutual assistance must be subjected to a formal and substantive preliminary examination. The specific requirements for mutual assistance are derived from the relevant international treaties and, subsidiarily, from the IMAC and the IMAC Ordinance (Art. 1 para. 1 IMAC), whereby, in accordance with the so-called principle of favorability, the national provisions apply even if they impose lower requirements for mutual assistance.
6Formal aspects that must be regularly examined are, in particular, the language, the form and the completeness of the content and the enclosures of the request for mutual assistance. From a substantive point of view, it is typically examined whether the facts of the case have been presented in a legally sufficient manner, whether there are grounds for refusal and whether the execution of the request appears to be proportionate. If the execution of the request for mutual assistance requires coercive measures, double criminality must also be examined (cf. Art. 64 para. 1 IMAC).
7Another check is whether Swiss procedural law, namely the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Procedure Act, permits the requested measure. However, a request for mutual assistance may also be granted (cf. Art. 80a para. 1 IMAC) if not all the requested assistance measures are admissible: In this case, the admissible measures will be executed and the requesting authority will be informed which implementing acts are not enforceable in Switzerland.
8If the processing of the request requires special expertise or up-to-date scientific know-how and/or specialist knowledge concerning special matters of Swiss law, the executing authority may obtain opinions from specialist authorities - such as the Federal Tax Administration (cf. Art. 24 para. 3 IMAC) or the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs - as part of the preliminary examination. It is also permissible to consult files from other proceedings (e.g. criminal proceedings or mutual assistance proceedings), data from the commercial register or publicly accessible sources if they could be useful for the preliminary examination. Orders to the police are also possible at this stage of the proceedings.
9The question of who has party status in the mutual assistance proceedings does not necessarily have to be answered at this stage of the proceedings, especially since the parties in the mutual assistance proceedings are in any case only established after the mutual assistance acts have been carried out.
10 Since the preliminary examination does not yet conclusively decide on the granting and scope of mutual assistance, Art. 80 para. 1 IMAC merely provides for a prima facie analysis of the request for mutual assistance. According to the view expressed here, the executing authority should nevertheless already carry out a careful check of the request for mutual assistance at this stage of the proceedings: On the one hand, this can avoid costly and pointless criminal procedural measures. On the other hand, in the case of inadequate requests for mutual assistance (Art. 80 para. 2 IMAC), only a careful examination will enable the requesting authority to take targeted action.
11Within the framework of Art. 80 para. 1 IMAC, it is not necessary to examine whether mutual assistance is to be restricted or refused due to conflicting essential Swiss interests pursuant to Art. 1a IMAC. The FDJP is responsible for such a decision, which can be requested within 30 days of the final ruling (cf. Art. 17 para. 1 IMAC).
12 In the case of so-called supplementary letters rogatory, only a limited preliminary examination takes place, namely only the admissibility of the requested measures is to be checked.
IV. Positive preliminary examination
13 If the result of the preliminary examination is positive, a summarily reasoned ruling of acceptance is issued (Art. 80a para. 1 IMAC), in which the result of the preliminary examination is recorded. This is followed by the requested implementing measures, namely disclosure orders, house searches, seizures, interrogations, secret surveillance measures and account freezes (cf. Art. 63 et seq. IMAC). Subsequently, the rights of the parties (in particular the right to be heard) are granted and the mutual assistance proceedings are concluded. Even if the preliminary examination is positive, the executing authority can still refuse mutual assistance.
V. Negative preliminary examination
14If the request for mutual assistance does not meet the requirements, this is not recorded in a formal order. According to Art. 80 para. 2 IMAC, in this case the request for mutual assistance must be returned to the requesting authority. In addition to the refusal of mutual assistance, it is also possible at this stage of the proceedings that the requesting authority is invited to supplement or improve the request for mutual assistance. The reasons for the request or refusal of mutual assistance must be given to the requesting authority.
15If direct communication with the requesting state is possible, the executing authority may itself take action vis-à-vis the requesting authority - even if the FOJ has delegated or forwarded the request for mutual assistance to it. Otherwise, the FOJ must be involved.
VI. Party rights and legal remedies
16In the run-up to the preliminary examination, potential parties have no right to inspect files (Art. 80b para. 1 IMAC) and no right to make a preliminary statement (Art. 30 para. 1 APA). Furthermore, there is no duty of disclosure to the potential parties with regard to negative preliminary examinations, nor is there any right of appeal against them. If the request for judicial assistance is granted, the usual rules on party rights and appeals apply within the framework of the corresponding judicial assistance proceedings.
The legal opinion of the two authors is independent of that of their employer. Terms referring to persons apply equally to women and men.
Bibliography
Dangubic Miro, Parteistellung und Parteirechte bei der rechtshilfeweisen Herausgabe von Kontoinformationen, forumpoenale 2018, S. 112-117.
Donatsch Andreas/Heimgartner Stefan/Meyer Frank/Simonek Madeleine, Internationale Rechtshilfe, 2. Aufl., Zürich et al. 2015.
Fiolka Gerhard, Kommentierung zu Art. 1 IRSG, in: Niggli Marcel Alexander/Heimgartner Stefan (Hrsg.), Basler Kommentar, Internationales Strafrecht, IRSG, GwÜ, Basel 2015.
Garré Roy, Kommentierung zu Art. 35 IRSG, in: Niggli Marcel Alexander/Heimgartner Stefan (Hrsg.), Basler Kommentar, Internationales Strafrecht, IRSG, GwÜ, Basel 2015.
Kuster Susanne, Kommentierung zu Art. 78 und Art. 80 IRSG, in: Niggli Marcel Alexander/Heimgartner Stefan (Hrsg.), Basler Kommentar, Internationales Strafrecht, IRSG, GwÜ, Basel 2015.
Moreillon Laurent (Hrsg.), Commentaire romand, Entraide internationale en matière pénale, EIMP, TEJUS, LTEJUS, TEXUS, Basel 2004.
Popp Peter, Grundzüge der internationalen Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen, Basel et al. 2001.
Zimmermann Robert, La coopération judiciaire internationale en matière pénale, 5. Aufl., Bern 2019.