Introduction into Attachment Orders according to Swiss law
Under certain circumstances a creditor may freeze assets of a debtor not residing in Switzer-land. The competent local Court issues an Attachment Order according to which specific assets of the debtor are frozen and he/she can no longer dispose of. Commonly, those Attachment Orders are addressed to Swiss banks managing funds of the debtor. After the Attachment Order has been issued by the Court, the creditor has to validate his/her claim before the Court which has jurisdiction over the substance matter (whether in Switzerland or abroad). During the validation procedure the assets of the debtor remain frozen. The debtor may appeal the Attachment Order. The Swiss Attachment Order Procedure is a pure Civil Procedure for which the loosing party has to bear the Court costs and pay a compensation to the opposing party.
The Website www.attachment.ch is a know-how database only. The most important laws are accessible in the national languages of Switzerland (German, French and Italian) and some of them have been translated into English. An index refers to the relevant text books and com-mentaries dealing with this area of law. Further, there are check-lists available regarding the preparation of an application for an Attachment Order. The most important cases of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and various Cantonal High Courts are accessible online in German, French and Italian. Additionally, cases regarding the following subject matters of Attachment Orders and related areas are accessible:
- Attachment Orders
- Attachment Order versus foreign states
Precautionary measures according to article 39 of the Lugano and (former) Brüssels Convention - Enforcement declaration of English Freezing Orders
- Attachment Order and arbitral procedure
- Attachment Orders and tax issues
- Attachment Orders and criminal procedures
Please note that only the introductory-page of this Website is translated into English but not the sub pages with the references to text books and case law. Should you have trouble navi-gating through or mastering one of the Swiss languages please do not hesitate to get in contact with Felix C. Meier-Dieterle.