International Construction Law Review
CORRESPONDENT’S REPORT: SWITZERLAND
DR IUR HUBERT STOECKLI, MCL
Associate Professor, Institute of Swiss and International Construction Law, University of Freiburg, Switzerland
I. INTRODUCTION
When you look only at its statutory base, Swiss private construction law has not seen many changes since the Swiss Code of Obligations1
came into force on 1 January 1912. This view, however, does not hold true when you consider the many developments that have occurred elsewhere. For instance, the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA)2
has continually published standard forms of contract that apply to a wide range of construction related services. Its standardised building contract (SIA-118, 1977/91) has seen unsurpassed success and is applied to a vast number of construction related contracts by both private and government entities.
Major changes have also come about since 1996 with the enactment of extensive public procurement legislation. The new regulations have profoundly affected the way Swiss government bodies at all levels (federal, cantonal, and municipal) tender their contracts for works, services, and supplies. These changes were instigated by the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), which Switzerland ratified on 19 December 1995. Although the GPA is only applicable above established thresholds, its implementation has triggered a complete overhaul of Swiss public procurement law. Occasionally, the new legislation has come under heavy fire. There is, however, no doubt that this fairly new body of law is here to stay, which even its most ardent opponents will acknowledge.
In order to assess the impact, to some degree, the Swiss federal administration has recently started to compile data about procurement practice. The administration’s intention is to establish the groundwork for major adjustments. Even though intermediate findings are publicly available, it is too soon to make a prediction about the outcome of the undertaking at this time. Still, considering the unfortunate maze of pertinent rules and
1
Swiss statutes are easily accessible through the federal government’s website (http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr). The entire body of statutory law can be read in German, French or Italian. As to the Swiss Code of Obligations (“CO”), which governs contracts for works (Arts 363–379), English translations have been published by the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, most recently in 2002.
2
For details visit the association’s website (http://www.sia.ch).
[2005
The International Construction Law Review
132