-
- Art. 3 FC
- Art. 5a FC
- Art. 6 FC
- Art. 10 FC
- Art. 13 FC
- Art. 16 FC
- Art. 17 FC
- Art. 20 FC
- Art. 22 FC
- Art. 26 FC
- Art. 29a FC
- Art. 30 FC
- Art. 31 FC
- Art. 32 FC
- Art. 42 FC
- Art. 43 FC
- Art. 43a FC
- Art. 45 FC
- Art. 55 FC
- Art. 56 FC
- Art. 60 FC
- Art. 68 FC
- Art. 74 FC
- Art. 75b FC
- Art. 77 FC
- Art. 81 FC
- Art. 96 para. 1 FC
- Art. 96 para. 2 lit. a FC
- Art. 110 FC
- Art. 117a FC
- Art. 118 FC
- Art. 123a FC
- Art. 123b FC
- Art. 130 FC
- Art. 136 FC
- Art. 164 FC
- Art. 166 FC
- Art. 170 FC
- Art. 178 FC
- Art. 189 FC
- Art. 191 FC
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- Art. 11 CO
- Art. 12 CO
- Art. 50 CO
- Art. 51 CO
- Art. 84 CO
- Art. 97 CO
- Art. 98 CO
- Art. 99 CO
- Art. 100 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. 633 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
- Art. 808c CO
- Transitional provisions to the revision of the Stock Corporation Act of June 19, 2020
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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. 60 PRA
- Art. 60a PRA
- Art. 62 PRA
- Art. 63 PRA
- Art. 64 PRA
- Art. 67 PRA
- Art. 67a PRA
- Art. 67b PRA
- Art. 73 PRA
- Art. 73a PRA
- Art. 75 PRA
- Art. 75a PRA
- Art. 76 PRA
- Art. 76a PRA
- Art. 90 PRA
-
- Art. 1 IMAC
- Art. 1a IMAC
- Art. 3 para. 1 and 2 IMAC
- Art. 8 IMAC
- Art. 8a IMAC
- Art. 11b IMAC
- Art. 16 IMAC
- Art. 17 IMAC
- Art. 17a IMAC
- Art. 32 IMAC
- Art. 47 IMAC
- Art. 63 IMAC
- Art. 67 IMAC
- Art. 67a IMAC
- Art. 74 IMAC
- Art. 74a IMAC
- Art. 80 IMAC
- Art. 80a IMAC
- Art. 80b IMAC
- Art. 80c IMAC
- Art. 80d IMAC
- Art. 80h IMAC
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- Vorb. zu Art. 1 FADP
- Art. 1 FADP
- Art. 2 FADP
- Art. 3 FADP
- Art. 4 FADP
- Art. 5 lit. c FADP
- Art. 5 lit. d FADP
- Art. 5 lit. f und g FADP
- Art. 6 para. 3-5 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. 18 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. 52 FADP
- Art. 54 FADP
- Art. 55 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. 16 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 18 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 25 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 27 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 28 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)
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- Art. 2 para. 1 AMLA
- Art. 2a para. 1-2 and 4-5 AMLA
- Art. 2 para. 3 AMLA
- Art. 3 AMLA
- Art. 7 AMLA
- Art. 7a AMLA
- Art. 8 AMLA
- Art. 8a AMLA
- Art. 11 AMLA
- Art. 14 AMLA
- Art. 15 AMLA
- Art. 20 AMLA
- Art. 23 AMLA
- Art. 24 AMLA
- Art. 24a AMLA
- Art. 25 AMLA
- Art. 26 AMLA
- Art. 26a AMLA
- Art. 27 AMLA
- Art. 28 AMLA
- Art. 29 AMLA
- Art. 29a AMLA
- Art. 29b AMLA
- Art. 30 AMLA
- Art. 31 AMLA
- Art. 31a AMLA
- Art. 32 AMLA
- Art. 38 AMLA
FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
MEDICAL DEVICES ORDINANCE
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
CRIMINAL CODE
CYBERCRIME CONVENTION
COMMERCIAL REGISTER ORDINANCE
FEDERAL ACT ON COMBATING MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
FEDERAL ACT ON THE INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER OF CULTURAL PROPERTY
- I. General
- II. Procedure for issuing the final decision
- III. Structure and content of the final decision
- IV. Legal protection and enforcement
- V. Costs
- Bibliography
- Materials
I. General
1 Art. 80d IMAC requires the executing authority to settle a request for legal assistance in whole or in part by means of a formal final decision after completion of the execution. Since the revision of the Mutual Assistance Act of October 4, 1996 (in force since February 1, 1997), this final decision has formed the cornerstone of the procedure: it constitutes the final decision by which the authority determines the admissibility and scope of mutual assistance.
2 Before a final decision is issued, no information or evidence may be disclosed to the requesting state. Exceptions apply in particular to unsolicited transmission pursuant to Art. 67a IMAC, the transmission of electronic traffic data pursuant to Art. 18b IMAC, early transmission pursuant to Art. 80dbis IMAC, and simplified transmission pursuant to Art. 80c IMAC.
3 Depending on the enforcement authority, the final decision is issued either by the authority responsible for enforcement (such as a cantonal public prosecutor's office or the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, cf. Art. 78 f. IMAC) or, less frequently, by the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ), provided that it itself decides on the granting and scope of mutual legal assistance (cf. Art. 79a IMAC; Art. 28 ff. BG-RVUS).
4 Finally, mutual legal assistance proceedings are concluded by means of a final decision in cases where no other type of settlement is appropriate, namely non-acceptance (Art. 78 para. 2 IMAC), non-admissibility (Art. 80 para. 2 IMAC) or informal settlement in a simplified procedure (Art. 80c IMAC). In this regard, settlement by means of a final decision is also understood in legal doctrine as subsidiary.
II. Procedure for issuing the final decision
5 The issuance of a final decision requires that the executing authority consider the foreign request to be “settled”. This is the case when all admissible mutual assistance measures have been carried out and the results are ready for transmission – i.e., a formal or substantive decision can be made on the requests made in the request. Accordingly, the (partial) conclusion of the mutual assistance proceedings by means of a final decision is also a prerequisite for transmission abroad.
6 In many cases, mutual assistance is completed in full; but the law expressly provides that a final decision may also constitute the conclusion of part of the request. The authority may therefore – in the exercise of its discretionary powers – conclude a mutual legal assistance case in several stages, provided that this is justified by objective reasons (e.g., if certain documents are already available but others are not yet available). Separate (final) orders must be issued later for any parts of the request that are still pending, as soon as they can be executed and the relevant conditions are met.
7 If a mutual legal assistance decision does not require a prior interim order, orders to proceed, interim orders, and final orders can be combined. This concentrated approach aims to speed up the proceedings. Direct orders for initial and final decisions are possible and appropriate wherever the final decision is not preceded by separate procedural steps in which the right to be heard must be granted. This may be the case, for example, when existing files are consulted, court documents are served, or criminal record extracts are issued.
8 Once a request for legal assistance has been executed, i.e., when the executing authority considers the request to have been fulfilled in whole or in part, the persons entitled must be given the opportunity to exercise their right to be heard in accordance with Art. 30 para. 1 of the APA. For this purpose, a notice of the impending final decision shall be issued. This right to prior comment applies exclusively to the final decision (and not to the preliminary or interim decision) and is deemed to have been upheld if the party concerned is expressly informed of the evidence to be disclosed before the decision is issued and is given an adequate period of time to comment. In the case of the disclosure of bank documents, the bank has the right to inform its customers about the request for legal assistance after any prohibition on disclosure has been lifted (Art. 80n para. 1 IMAC).
In this case, and in particular if the customer is resident or domiciled abroad, the executing authority must wait for a reasonable period of time between lifting the prohibition on disclosure and issuing the final decision so that the bank customer can take note of the proceedings and, if necessary, participate in them or designate a domicile for service in Switzerland.
9 The executing authority must, in principle, expedite the mutual assistance proceedings in accordance with the requirement of prompt execution under Art. 17a IMAC. In this regard, the Federal Supreme Court has ruled that a period of seven and a half years between the receipt of the request and the final decision of the FOJ, as well as periods of inactivity of one and a half and three years, respectively, constitute a violation of the requirement of expeditiousness, but that such delays must not be to the detriment of the requesting state.
III. Structure and content of the final decision
10 A typical final decision in mutual legal assistance usually contains the following elements: (a) description of the facts or a summary of the request and the essential course of the proceedings (including submissions by the parties involved); (b) a legal assessment with an examination of the admissibility requirements (including double criminality, guarantees of specialty, possible grounds for exclusion under Art. 2 ff. IMAC, etc.) and the question of scope; and (c) the dispositive, which describes the substantive decision and, if applicable, the order for surrender. Also listed are (d) the information on legal remedies (with deadline and jurisdiction) and (e) the costs regulation, if relevant (as a rule, no procedural costs are charged). The signature of the competent person (e.g., the public prosecutor conducting the proceedings or the case officer at the FOJ) concludes the order.
11 In addition, the final decision specifies the extent to which mutual legal assistance is granted. Specifically, it must indicate what information may be transmitted to the requesting state, and the documents to be surrendered must be precisely identified.
12 The final decision must be justified in writing (Art. 80d IMAC requires a “reasoned decision”). This formal requirement to state reasons gives concrete form to the constitutional right to a fair hearing (Art. 29 para. 2 of the FC) in mutual assistance proceedings.
13 The reasons for a decision must be formulated in such a way that the person concerned can, if necessary, challenge it in an appropriate manner. This is only possible if both the person concerned and the appellate authority can form an opinion on the scope of the decision. In this sense, the deciding authority must at least briefly set out the essential considerations underlying its decision and address the central arguments of the parties. However, this does not mean that it must explicitly address every factual assertion and every legal objection. It is sufficient to limit oneself to the aspects that are essential to the decision. Whether these considerations are accurate and support the decision in terms of content is ultimately not a question of the right to a fair hearing, but concerns the substantive content of the decision.
14 In substantive terms, the final decision may take the form of a complete granting of legal assistance, a partial granting, a granting subject to (accepted) conditions, a granting subject to an express reservation of specialty, or even a complete rejection of the request for legal assistance. A final decision is also made if a person seeking legal assistance is denied party status in the mutual assistance proceedings or if the coercive measures court denies someone the right to apply for sealing.
IV. Legal protection and enforcement
15 The final decision must be served on the party concerned at their place of residence or domicile for service in Switzerland (Art. 80m para. 1 IMAC) and on the FOJ (Art. 5 IRSV). Decisions are not generally served abroad on parties concerned who are resident abroad and have not designated an address for service in Switzerland. The right to service expires as soon as the decision concluding the mutual assistance proceedings becomes enforceable (Art. 80m para. 2 IMAC).
16 The entitled parties have the right to appeal against the final decision. Art. 80e to 80l IMAC describe the possibility of appealing against the final decision (together with the preceding interim decisions, unless these can be appealed against independently) by lodging an appeal with the Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court.
17 If an appeal is lodged against a final order, this generally prevents its enforceability, especially since the appeal has suspensive effect with regard to the transmission of information from the secret domain or the surrender of objects or assets (Art. 21 para. 4 IMAC). The final order becomes formally legally binding if the parties entitled to appeal expressly waive their right to appeal. Otherwise, the 30-day appeal period under Art. 80k IMAC must be waited out. If a decision has been issued by the Federal Criminal Court on the basis of an appeal, this decision may be challenged within 10 days by means of an appeal in public law matters to the Federal Supreme Court (Art. 100 para. 2 lit. b BGG).
18 Once the final decision has become legally binding, the evidence or information collected may be transmitted to the requesting authority. This is usually done by means of an informal letter of transmission.
V. Costs
19 In principle, requests for legal assistance are executed free of charge in accordance with Art. 31 IMAC, so that no procedural costs are imposed on the requesting state (see, however, Art. 80q IMAC and Art. 12 IRSV and the relevant provisions contained in international treaties) .
20 However, in appeal proceedings, it is permissible to impose the costs of the proceedings on the appellants if their appeal is dismissed in whole or in part (cf. Art. 39 para. 2 lit. b StBOG in conjunction with Art. 63 para. 1 APA).
21 The same applies in cases of vexatious and abusive conduct. The mere exercise of legal remedies or the refusal to give consent does not constitute an abuse of rights. The person concerned may therefore not be required to bear any costs.
Comments:
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
Balogh Krisztina/Reichle Dominik, Kommentierung zu Art. 80c IRSG, in: Ludwiczak Glassey Maria/Staffler Lukas (Hrsg.), Onlinekommentar zum Bundesgesetz über internationale Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen – Version: 25.2.2025: https://onlinekommentar.ch/de/kommentare/irsg80c, besucht am 11.11.2025, DOI: 10.17176/20251007-190624-0 .
Dangubic Miro/Stelzer-Wieckowska Marta, Kommentierung zu Art. 80b IRSG, in: Ludwiczak Glassey Maria/Staffler Lukas (Hrsg.), Onlinekommentar zum Bundesgesetz über internationale Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen – Version: 25.2.2025: https://onlinekommentar.ch/de/kommentare/irsg80b, besucht am 11.11.2025, DOI: 10.17176/20250225-194711-0 .
Heimgartner Stefan/Niggli Marcel Alexander, Kommentierung zu Art. 80d IRSG, in: Niggli Marcel Alexander/Heimgartner Stefan (Hrsg.), Basler Kommentar, Internationales Strafrecht, IRSG, GwÜ, Basel 2015.
Ludwiczak Glassey Maria, Entraide judiciaire internationale en matière pénale, Précis de droit suisse, 1. Aufl., Basel 2018.
Ludwiczak Glassey Maria, Kommentierung zu Art. 80d IRSG, in: Ludwiczak Glassey Maria/Laurent Moreillon (Hrsg.), Petit Commentaire, Loi sur l’entraide pénale internationale, Basel 2024.
Poglia Clara/Jakubowski Michaël, Kommentierung zu Art. 80h IRSG, in: Ludwiczak Glassey Maria/Staffler Lukas (Hrsg.), Onlinekommentar zum Bundesgesetz über internationale Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen – Version: 28.3.2025: https://onlinekommentar.ch/de/kommentare/irsg80h, besucht am 11.11.2025, DOI: 10.17176/20230908-114307-0
Remund Cédric/ Thormann Olivier, Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen in: Bazzani Claudio/Ferrari-Visca Reto, Nadelhofer Simone (Hrsg.), Interne Untersuchungen, Eine umfassende Darstellung der rechtlichen und praktischen Aspekte, inklusive Amts- und Rechtshilfe und Kooperation mit Behörden, Zürich 2022.
Zimmermann Robert, La coopération judiciaire internationale en matière pénale, 6. Aufl., Bern 2024.
Materials
Botschaft betreffend die Änderung des Rechtshilfegesetzes und des Bundesgesetzes zum Staatsvertrag mit den USA über gegenseitige Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen sowie den Bundesbeschluss über einen Vorbehalt zum Europäischen Übereinkommen über die Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen vom 29.3.1995, BBl 1995 III 1 ff., abrufbar unter https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/1995/3_1_1_1/de, besucht am 11.11.2025.
Bundesamt für Justiz, Internationale Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen, Wegleitung, 10. Aufl. 2025, abrufbar unter https://www.rhf.admin.ch/rhf/de/home/strafrecht/wegleitungen.html, besucht am 24.11.2025.