Switzerland: Government, Public Sector

Switzerland's new investment screening regime introduces targeted oversight of foreign state-controlled investments in sensitive sectors. While maintaining an open investment environment, the framework establishes approval requirements for acquisitions by foreign state investors in defense, critical infrastructure, and strategic technology sectors, with exemptions for EU/EEA countries.

Switzerland introduces a targeted foreign investment screening regime focused on state-controlled investors acquiring businesses in sensitive sectors. The Investment Screening Act (IPG) and Investment Screening Ordinance (IPV) establish approval requirements for foreign state investors targeting critical infrastructure, defense technologies, and strategic industries, while maintaining Switzerland's traditionally open investment environment for private investors.

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling on shareholder approval requirements during composition moratorium proceedings, while the Federal Council has initiated consultation on a new Investment Screening Ordinance. These developments represent significant shifts in Swiss corporate restructuring procedures and foreign investment oversight mechanisms.

Switzerland's housing shortage persists despite calls for faster building permits, but the real obstacle lies deeper: a dense web of overlapping federal, cantonal, and municipal regulations that no procedural acceleration can untangle. This analysis examines why constitutional limits prevent Berne from solving the crisis alone, and why genuine relief demands a fundamental reduction of rules at every level of government.

Bär & Karrer is a leading Swiss law firm offering comprehensive legal advice and business solutions. Contact their Zurich office for expert assistance with your legal matters and general inquiries.

Switzerland's new investment screening regime introduces targeted oversight of foreign state-controlled investments in sensitive sectors. While maintaining an open investment environment, the framework establishes approval requirements for acquisitions by foreign state investors in defense, critical infrastructure, and strategic technology sectors, with exemptions for EU/EEA countries.

In August 2025, Washington imposed a 39% tariff on Swiss exports, later reduced to 15% through a framework arrangement. Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling...

The UNCITRAL Model Clauses on Specialised Express Dispute Resolution (SPEDR) introduce a framework for rapid, interim-binding dispute resolution in construction projects, combining expedited adjudication with compliance arbitration mechanisms. This analysis examines how SPEDR differs from traditional arbitration and FIDIC dispute boards, its potential to preserve cash flow and project continuity, and the practical considerations parties must weigh when implementing this emerging international framework.

Switzerland's Federal Council has adopted a dispatch to revise the Federal Act on Banks and Saving Banks, requiring systemically important banks like UBS to fully back foreign subsidiary participations...

Die Revision des Schweizer Geldwäschereigesetzes unterstellt ab Oktober 2026 Berater bei Immobilientransaktionen über CHF 5 Mio. erstmals umfassenden Compliance-Pflichten.

Switzerland's new Legal Entities Transparency Act introduces a centralised federal register of beneficial owners, fundamentally changing how Swiss companies must identify, document and report ultimate ownership and control structures. The regime imposes strict reporting deadlines beginning in late 2026, with criminal sanctions for non-compliance reaching up to CHF 500,000 for intentional breaches. Companies must now navigate complex look-through requirements, enhanced documentation obligations, and ongoing

With the new Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities and the Identification of Beneficial Owners (LETA), Switzerland is establishing, for the first time, a central electronic register of the beneficial owners of companies (transparency register). The LETA, the related ordinance (LETO) and the revised Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) will enter into force on 1 October 2026.