News Archives

We are delighted that Andreas Amstutz joined our law firm as a new partner in January 2024. With his many years of experience as a litigation and advisory lawyer, Andreas Amstutz is a proven and sought-after expert, particularly in commercial and corporate law.

On September 1, 2023, the new Federal Law on Data Protection (Data Protection Act, DPA) of September 25, 2020 and the associated ordinances came into force; they replace the previous law from 1992 and its associated ordinances.

We are very pleased that Viktoria Wüthrich will start her new position with us in January 2023. As a dedicated lawyer, she most recently contributed her expertise as a clerk at the Superior Court of the Canton of Bern. At Damke Rechtsanwälte, she will support our team with her legal expertise and drive, mainly in the areas of construction, administrative and contract law, both actively and in a litigious capacity.

The Federal Council intends to implement the constitutional article on the ban on concealing one's face in a new federal law. At its meeting on 12 October 2022, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the Federal Act on the Prohibition of Concealing the Face. A person who conceals his or her face in public places will be liable to a fine of up to 1,000 francs.

With 97 386 entries in the criminal register in 2021, the number of convictions fell slightly compared with the previous year (-1%). The declining figures for offences under the Criminal Code (SCC) and the Narcotics Act (NarcA) contrast with an increase under the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA).

In its opinion of 13 April 2022, the Federal Council welcomes the proposal of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of States to extend the offence of rape in the Criminal Code. In future, anyone who overrides the victim's wishes, even without resorting to violence or threats, will be punishable by rape.

The Swiss tax system got good marks overall in the report of the group of experts working on Switzerland as a tax location, which is made up of representatives from the Confederation, the cantons, businesses and the scientific community. The Federal Department of Finance (FDF) intends to present measures to the Federal Council by the end of June.

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Pascal Hofer, attorney-at-law, has joined our team on February 1, 2021.

The Competition Commission (COMCO) fines UPC by around CHF 30 million. In 2016, UPC acquired broadcasting rights for games of the Swiss Ice Hockey Championship. It refused to supply Swisscom with broadcasts of live ice hockey for years. This refusal is illegal under anti-trust law.

Contact tracing is used to identify people who have been in close contact with people who have been infected with the coronavirus. The SwissCovid app supports this process: it establishes whether we have been in close physical contact with someone who is infected. That way, we can break the chains of transmission.

In Switzerland there are only a small number of infections confirmed by tests. This means that the spread of the new coronavirus can be controlled by contact tracing. Continue to follow the hygiene and social distancing rules.

At its meeting on May 13, 2020, the Federal Council fixed the areas benefiting from stabilization measures as well as the financial criteria provided for Swiss sport. For the football and ice hockey leagues, 350 million swiss francs will be made available. Regarding popular and elite sport, the sum amounts to 150 million swiss francs.