SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Annemarie Lagger, Amina Chammah and Isabell Schellhas, Walder Wyss Ltd
Walder Wyss Ltd Seefeldstrasse 123
8034 Zurich Switzerland
Tel: +41 58 658 51 93 Fax: +41 58 658 59 59 Email: annemarie.lagger@walderwyss.com Web: www.walderwyss.com/en
1. Product Safety 1.1 Product Safety Legal Framework
• The Federal Product Safety Act and the implement - ing Ordinance on Product Safety – these regula - tions are applicable to the extent that a sector- specific regulation does not address product safety (eg, regarding post-market surveillance or compe - tencies of the enforcement authorities). • The Federal Act on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Ordinance on the Placing of Products on the Market according to Foreign Regulations – these regulations shall ensure free trade between Swit - zerland and its main trading partners by obliging the Swiss legislators to align product regulations with those of such partners, in particular with the European Union. • The Federal Act on Product Liability, which pro - vides for the strict liability (ie, not depending on the producer’s fault) of a producer for its defective products. 1.2 Regulatory Authorities for Product Safety The enforcement of product safety regulation in Swit - zerland is generally sector specific. This means that the enforcement authorities that are responsible for a specific product sector are also authorised to enforce the specific product safety regulations for that sector. Depending on the sectoral law, the responsibility for enforcement lies with either the cantons or the federal government. The main regulators are the following. • The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) co-ordinates the enforcement of Swiss product safety legislation in agreement with the compe - tent sector-specific enforcement bodies and is, additionally, the surveying regulatory enforcement authority in several product sectors; the SECO also
The Swiss product safety legal framework consists of regulations that fall into two broad categories: sector- specific and horizontal framing regulations. Sector-Specific Federal Regulations These regulations apply to specific product categories and include, for instance, the following. • The Federal Act on Foodstuffs and Utility Articles and implementing ordinances, such as: (a) the Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Utility Arti - cles; (b) the Federal Department of Home Affairs’ Ordi - nance on the Safety of Toys; or (c) the Federal Department of Home Affairs’ Ordi - nance on Cosmetic Products. • The Federal Act on Medicinal Products and Medi - cal Devices and implementing ordinances, such as the Medical Devices Ordinance. • The Ordinance on Machines. • The Federal Act on Electrical Light and Heavy Cur - rent Installations and implementing ordinances, such as: (a) the Ordinance on Electrical Low Current Instal - lations ; or (b) the Ordinance on Electromagnetic Compat - ibility . • The Federal Act on Construction Products. Horizontal Framing Regulations These are subsidiary, applicable and cross-sectoral to all products, and include the following.
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