Switzerland: Government, Public Sector

Switzerland's new investment screening regime introduces targeted oversight of foreign state-controlled investments in sensitive sectors. While maintaining an open investment environment, the framework establishes approval requirements for acquisitions by foreign state investors in defense, critical infrastructure, and strategic technology sectors, with exemptions for EU/EEA countries.

Switzerland introduces a targeted foreign investment screening regime focused on state-controlled investors acquiring businesses in sensitive sectors. The Investment Screening Act (IPG) and Investment Screening Ordinance (IPV) establish approval requirements for foreign state investors targeting critical infrastructure, defense technologies, and strategic industries, while maintaining Switzerland's traditionally open investment environment for private investors.

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling on shareholder approval requirements during composition moratorium proceedings, while the Federal Council has initiated consultation on a new Investment Screening Ordinance. These developments represent significant shifts in Swiss corporate restructuring procedures and foreign investment oversight mechanisms.

Switzerland's housing shortage persists despite calls for faster building permits, but the real obstacle lies deeper: a dense web of overlapping federal, cantonal, and municipal regulations that no procedural acceleration can untangle. This analysis examines why constitutional limits prevent Berne from solving the crisis alone, and why genuine relief demands a fundamental reduction of rules at every level of government.

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Switzerland's new investment screening regime introduces targeted oversight of foreign state-controlled investments in sensitive sectors. While maintaining an open investment environment, the framework establishes approval requirements for acquisitions by foreign state investors in defense, critical infrastructure, and strategic technology sectors, with exemptions for EU/EEA countries.

In August 2025, Washington imposed a 39% tariff on Swiss exports, later reduced to 15% through a framework arrangement. Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling...

The UNCITRAL Model Clauses on Specialised Express Dispute Resolution (SPEDR) introduce a framework for rapid, interim-binding dispute resolution in construction projects, combining expedited adjudication with compliance arbitration mechanisms. This analysis examines how SPEDR differs from traditional arbitration and FIDIC dispute boards, its potential to preserve cash flow and project continuity, and the practical considerations parties must weigh when implementing this emerging international framework.

Switzerland's Federal Council has adopted a dispatch to revise the Federal Act on Banks and Saving Banks, requiring systemically important banks like UBS to fully back foreign subsidiary participations...

On 1 October 2026, Switzerland's Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities (TJPG) and new Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) obligations for advisers enter into force, raising critical questions for single family offices about which companies, activities, and responsible persons are covered. With the Swiss SFO landscape representing approximately CHF 785 billion in family wealth across an estimated 300 organizations, understanding exemptions, registration requirements, and compliance deadlines

The Swiss real estate sector faces significant regulatory changes with new beneficial ownership transparency and anti-money laundering obligations taking effect in October 2026. Geneva voters will decide on amendments to the LDTR in September 2026, while federal-level revisions to the Lex Koller continue to advance.

On 1 October 2026, the revised Anti-Money Laundering Act and the new Transparency Act enter into force. For banks, the new federal register of beneficial owners is mainly an additional data source.