SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Aurélie Conrad Hari, Pascal Hachem, Julien Renaud and Arthur M. Urben, Bär & Karrer
and other groups affected by mass harm. Notably, collective redress mechanisms were considered as a means of improving the efficiency of the judicial sys- tem by consolidating numerous similar claims into a single procedure, thereby reducing the burden on courts and litigants. The report also compared Swiss practices with those of other countries, noting that many European countries had more developed col- lective legal protection systems. A parliamentary motion in 2013 mandated the Swiss Federal Council to explore the implementation of col- lective redress mechanisms. Initially, the latter had considered the introduction of collective redress mechanisms on a sectoral basis and proposed devel- oping the protection of collective interests in the finan- cial and insurance sectors as part of the new FinSA. Its 2014 preliminary draft proposed the creation of a litigation fund and the possibility of resorting to a col- lective action or a group settlement procedure. How- ever, strong opposition from various sectors during public consultation led to delays and modifications in the legislative process, and these proposals were left out of the final draft. The Swiss Federal Council then proposed to develop collective redress mechanisms directly in the SCCP. Revision of the SCCP (2018–25) As part of the reform of the SCCP, the Federal Coun- cil submitted a preliminary draft bill, which included the strengthening of collective redress mechanisms. However, in response to critical feedback, the Federal Council decided in 2020 to make the provisions con- cerning the collective enforcement of rights a distinct project. In December 2021, the Federal Council released a separate draft bill on the right of action for organisa- tions and collective transactions, which aims to further develop collective legal protection mechanisms (FF 2021 3049). Specifically, it introduces a collective set- tlement procedure and extends the scope of associa- tion claims to include all forms of unlawful violations, beyond just personality rights – allowing for a collec- tive compensatory claim process. In conjunction with this proposal, a report was commissioned to exam- ine its regulatory impact, along with a comparative law study. The Swiss model seeks to integrate best
practices from other jurisdictions, drawing inspiration from the EU’s Directive 2020/1828 on representative actions for consumer protection, while preserving the core principles of the Swiss legal system. In March 2025, the National Council (ie, the lower chamber of the Swiss Parliament) refused to exam- ine the proposed legislation, as the majority of the members of Parliament feared an “Americanisation” of the Swiss legal system. The Council of States (ie, the upper chamber of the Swiss Parliament) also rejected the Federal Council’s legislative project on 15 Sep- tember 2025. The suggested introduction of collec- tive redress mechanisms in the SCCP was therefore shelved. 1.2 Basis for the Legislative Regime, Including Analogous International Laws Switzerland’s regime for the collective exercise of rights does not rely on broad collective redress mech- anisms or a class action akin to the American model and is not directly modelled on any single country’s regime. Swiss (private) law emphasises individual rights and procedural fairness, which has historically made it cautious about adopting broad collective mecha- nisms. The Swiss legislator has consciously avoided adopting many of the US class action components, such as the opt-out mechanism, punitive damages, jury trials, and contingency fees, which are considered alien to Swiss – and, more generally, European – legal tradition. Instead, Swiss law employs selected collective redress instruments dispersed in various laws, such as the joinder of parties, the combination of actions, associa- tion claims, and other instruments with effects similar to those of collective action. These mechanisms are not directly modelled on any single country’s regime but exist in a similar form ‒ with a few differences ‒ in other foreign legal systems comparable to Swiss law, particularly in European countries. It should nevertheless be noted that the collective redress mechanisms proposed by the Federal Coun- cil in 2021 in the context of the revision of the SCCP are inspired by the best practices existing in other
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