The procedure of a court trial and the rights of the parties involved are governed by the rules of procedure. The provisions on civil proceedings are set out in the Federal Code of Civil Procedure. This law, the CPC, regulates the procedure for enforcing civil law claims - including, for example, monetary claims or other contractual disputes, family law actions or the protection of personality rights. Anyone wishing to enforce a claim in court is required to strictly adhere to these rules, otherwise the loss of a (in principle justified) claim may be threatened. The Code of Civil Procedure is therefore of considerable importance in everyday legal practice. Formal errors often lead to the dismissal (or approval) of an action.
Until 2010, each canton had its own rules, which differed significantly from one another. With the entry into force of the Federal Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO), the cantonal provisions were superseded and civil procedural law was standardized across Switzerland. On January 1, 2025, a revised version of the ZPO came into force. According to the Federal Council, the new rules are intended to facilitate access to the courts and further improve the enforcement of law.
In this article, we inform you about the most important innovations that affect those seeking legal redress.
- Lower advance costs
- Adjustment of the cost regulations
- Expansion of the conciliation procedure: The Code of Civil Procedure already provided in its original form, in accordance with the principle of "conciliation instead of judgment", for a so-called conciliation obligation. Prior to the initiation of ordinary court proceedings, a conciliation hearing takes place (also referred to as a reconciliation or peace judge hearing), the aim of which is to persuade the parties to reach a settlement. According to information from the Federal Council, between fifty and eighty percent of disputes can be settled in this way, depending on the canton, before they even come to ordinary court proceedings. An exception to this conciliation obligation existed previously in cases that were judged by a single cantonal authority, such as in competition and trademark disputes or when the Commercial Court had jurisdiction. In the revised Code of Civil Procedure, the legislator is undertaking a paradigm shift by providing for a prior conciliation procedure in such cases, while at the same time granting the plaintiff the right to waive conciliation and file a lawsuit directly with the court (Art. 199 Para. 3 CPC). Newly, the conciliation authorities have the right to issue a so-called judgment proposal in cases with a dispute value of up to 10,000 francs - previously, the limit was 5,000 francs. If the parties do not reject the court's judgment proposal within 20 days, it becomes a judgment.
- Internationalization of Procedural Law: The revised Code of Civil Procedure gives the cantons the opportunity to declare their cantonal commercial courts competent in international commercial disputes, which primarily benefits foreign parties who were previously unable to access the Commercial Court if they were not registered in the local commercial register (Art. 6 Para. 4 lit. c CPC). Although the jurisdiction is only given if certain conditions are met - for example, the amount in dispute must be at least CHF 100,000 and the parties must expressly agree to the jurisdiction - the legislator hopes that the adaptation will strengthen the business location. This should also be achieved by the possibility of conducting proceedings in English with the consent of all parties, provided that the respective canton provides for this possibility (Art. 129 Para. 2 lit. b CPC). It is to be assumed that in particular the internationally important economic locations Zurich and Geneva will make use of this competence.
- Judicial Referral Obligation: A change that is highly disputed, particularly among the courts, concerns the newly introduced obligation of the courts to forward submissions filed erroneously with the wrong court to the competent court authority (Art. 143 Para. 1bis CPA).
- Digital Processes: What was partially practiced during the Corona pandemic is now also provided for in the revised Code of Civil Procedure: the hybrid or fully electronic conduct of court hearings. Thus, the court can conduct oral procedural acts "by means of electronic means for audio and video transmission" - including, in particular, video conferences - provided that the law does not provide otherwise and all parties agree (Art. 141a Code of Civil Procedure). In practice, practical and legal questions are likely to arise, especially when an electronic procedural act cannot be carried out as planned. If a procedural act is not performed by a party, it is considered defaulting according to the logic of the Code of Civil Procedure, which could be detrimental to it in a judgment. It remains to be seen how the courts will deal with situations in which the procedural act cannot be carried out for (allegedly) technical reasons.
The new regulations are in effect as of January 1, 2025. If you have any questions regarding legal proceedings in general or the new provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure in particular, the experts at Wagner Prazeller Hug are at your disposal.
