International Co-operation in Litigation: Switzerland
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Description
Swiss practices of international co-operation in litigation are influenced by Switzerland's federal system of government and by its national policy of neutrality, which has enabled it to avoid becoming embroiled in Europe's wars for over a hundred years. To some extent, these influences are responsible for a lack of harmony between Swiss and American procedures. However, it should be stressed at the outset that, although the difficulties inherent in obtaining Swiss co-operation in international litigation are often mentioned, l the real problem is not that Switzerland is reluctant to grant any co-operation, but that it frequently insists upon compliance with its own procedures. Switzerland is a confederation consisting of twenty-five cantons, each of which has its own government and exercises almost complete control over its internal affairs. Authority with respect to matters left to the confederation rests in a bicameral parliament, in a federal council whose seven members rotate in the presidency for one-year terms, and in the Bundesgericht. Each canton has its own district courts, usually called Bezirksgerechte, which are courts of first instance, and its own cantonal court of appeals. The adjudicatory authority of the Supreme Court of the Confederation (Bundesgericht), a federal tribunal, is primarily appellate and limited to questions of federal law which, however, include many questions of a private law nature. The Bundesgericht also has original competence in disputes between the confederation and a canton or between two cantons, in certain purely federal cases, and when both parties agree to submit the dispute to the court, provided the amount in controversy exceeds a certain amount. In these cases, the court sits in first and last resort. Virtually all requests for co-operation in foreign litigation ultimately are channeled to the cantonal court of first instance. As a rule, the Bundesgericht does not render assistance in the service of judicial documents or in obtaining testimonial or documentary evidence on behalf of foreign courts or litigants. However, the Bundesgericht may seek assistance from a foreign court in aid of its own proceedings. This report is based upon the law of the canton of Zurich in which is situated the city of Zurich, Switzerland's largest city and commercial center. The practice in this canton may be considered typical, although it must be stressed that the laws of certain cantons reflect their French, German, or Italian heritage, and that small or thinly populated cantons have had little or no experience in matters of inter- national co-operation in litigation.
Source Publication
International Co-operation in Litigation: Europe
Source Editors/Authors
Hans Smit
Publication Date
1965
Recommended Citation
Guldener, Max and Miller, Arthur R., "International Co-operation in Litigation: Switzerland" (1965). Faculty Chapters. 1088.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/1088
