Practice

From rule to action

Knowledge of the law becomes useful when it is translated into concrete steps, taken in the right order and supported by the right documents, so that a bank accepts the account, an authority grants the licence or a court orders the attachment. This series is devoted to that practical side of the work.

Swiss authorities and courts generally work in writing and expect submissions that are complete, well organised and supported by documents. Foreign documents often require certified translations into an official language and, depending on the country of origin, an apostille or legalisation. Planning for these formal requirements from the outset avoids delays that can otherwise cost weeks or even months.

How the practice articles are organised

Each article begins with a brief account of the legal basis and then turns to the sequence of steps, the documents required and the points at which practitioners commonly encounter difficulties. Where an authority publishes forms, guidance or circulars, the article explains how they are used in practice and which information the authority will typically expect to receive.

The articles are written for in-house counsel, compliance officers, family office staff and foreign advisers who need to understand how a Swiss procedure unfolds before they instruct local specialists. They are equally useful as a reference during a running matter, when a quick overview of the next step and its requirements helps to keep a project on schedule.

In this section

The articles in this series contain review steps, checklists and drafting points for practitioners: reporting to MROS, attaching assets, licensing an asset manager, reclaiming retrocessions, the automatic exchange of information, domiciliary companies, crypto licences, family offices and trust disputes.