The Swiss attachment: freezing the Lugano account of an Italian debtor

Function and grounds

The attachment (sequestro, German Arrest) under Articles 271 to 281 DEBA is the oldest and most effective protective measure of Swiss law for money claims. It allows a creditor to have specific assets of the debtor in Switzerland frozen by the debt enforcement office before he has obtained a judgment, and to keep them frozen until the claim has been decided. For a financial centre that holds large amounts of foreign-owned assets, the attachment is the point at which foreign creditors meet Swiss banks. Because so many Italian clients hold accounts in Lugano, the procedure carries particular weight for the city's banks and for the Ticino courts that grant attachments.¹

Article 271(1) DEBA lists six grounds. The Ticino form for attachment applications reproduces them in Italian. An attachment may be ordered:

● if the debtor has no fixed domicile;

● if the debtor, with the intention of evading his obligations, removes his assets, absconds or prepares to flee;

● if the debtor is passing through or belongs to the category of persons who visit fairs and markets, for claims that are by nature immediately due;

● if the debtor does not live in Switzerland and there is no other ground for attachment, provided that the claim has a sufficient connection with Switzerland;

● if the creditor holds a provisional or definitive certificate of shortfall (attestato di carenza di beni) against the debtor;

● if the creditor holds a definitive title for setting aside the objection (titolo definitivo di rigetto dell'opposizione).² The fourth ground, the so-called foreigner's attachment, also applies where the claim is based on an acknowledgment of debt within the meaning of Article 82(1) DEBA.³

The revision of 2011 and foreign judgments

The ground in Article 271(1)(6) DEBA was introduced with effect from 1 January 2011 by the federal decree that implemented the revised Lugano Convention.⁴ Before 2011, a creditor with a foreign judgment against a debtor domiciled abroad could attach Swiss assets only under the foreigner's ground, which required a sufficient connection with Switzerland. The new ground allows any creditor who holds a judgment that qualifies as a definitive title for setting aside an objection to attach the debtor's Swiss assets, regardless of the debtor's domicile and of any connection between the claim and Switzerland. An Italian judgment that is enforceable under the Convention is such a title. Under Article 271(3) DEBA the court that orders the attachment also decides on the enforceability of a Lugano Convention judgment, so that the creditor need not first obtain a separate declaration of enforceability.⁵ Commentators have argued that the new ground also covers judgments enforceable under the PILA or other treaties, and the cantonal courts have taken different approaches to the question of how far the attachment court must examine the conditions of recognition.

For the Italian creditor, the combination is powerful. With a final Italian judgment, he can apply to the Pretura of Lugano for an attachment of the debtor's Lugano bank accounts, obtain it ex parte within days and have the incidental exequatur decided in the same proceedings. The surprise effect that the Convention secures in its own exequatur procedure (Article 41) is thus preserved in the Swiss attachment.

Notes

1. Isaak Meier, "Einstweiliger Rechtsschutz für Geldforderungen", course materials, University of Zurich, spring semester 2015, https://uzh.ch/cmsssl/ius/dam/jcr:00000000-7ac3-74f2-ffff-fffface90440/EinstweiligerRechtsschutzfuerGeldforderungen.pdf. ↩
2. Canton of Ticino, form "Domanda di sequestro" (above), reproducing Art. 271(1) DEBA in Italian. ↩
3. Canton of Ticino, form "Domanda di sequestro" (above), reproducing Art. 271(1)(4) DEBA: "ma il credito abbia un legame sufficiente con la Svizzera o si fondi su un riconoscimento di debito ai sensi dell'articolo 82 capoverso 1". ↩
4. Federal Decree implementing the Lugano Convention (above). ↩
5. Canton of Ticino, form "Domanda di sequestro" (above), reproducing Art. 271(3) DEBA ("il giudice si pronuncia anche sull'esecutività della stessa"); Boller (above), who also argues that foreign judgments outside the revised Convention can fall under Art. 271(1)(6) DEBA. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.