The language of Swiss law

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Swiss federal law is published in German, French and Italian, and all three versions are equally authoritative. Romansh versions exist for important texts. English is not an official language of federal legislation. The Confederation nonetheless publishes unofficial English translations of many federal acts and ordinances on its legal platform Fedlex, particularly in the fields of commercial, financial market, tax and private international law.¹ The translations carry a notice that they have no legal force and that only the versions in the official languages are authoritative.

The English translations have become an important tool for the international business community. Foreign lawyers, in-house counsel and investors use them to understand Swiss law without learning German or French. They are, however, not always reliable guides to the meaning of the law. The translators must render Swiss legal concepts into English terms that have their own meanings in common law systems. The choices they make may mislead readers who are not familiar with Swiss law. A careful adviser reads the English translation together with the German or French original, and relies on the original when the two diverge.

Notes

Federal Act of 18 June 2004 on the Compilations of Federal Legislation and the Federal Gazette (Publications Act, PublG, SR 170.512), text on droit-bilingue.ch: Art. 14 para. 1 (simultaneous publication in the official languages German, French and Italian; for enactments the three versions are equally binding), para. 5 (publication in Romansh governed by Art. 11 of the Languages Act) and para. 6 (texts of particular importance or international interest may be published on the publication platform in further languages, in particular English); Art. 15 (authoritative version). ↩

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 September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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The language of Swiss law

Notes

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