Swiss Code of Obligations

Swiss Code of Obligations
Original title	German: Obligationenrecht; French: Code des obligations; Italian: Diritto delle obbligazioni; Romansh: Dretg d'obligaziuns
Ratified	30 March 1911
Date effective	1 January 1912 (current version as of 1 July 2016)
Location	SR220
Author(s)	Walther Munzinger, Heinrich Fick
Purpose	Regulates contract law and corporations

The Swiss Code of Obligations ('SR22, German: Obligationenrecht; French: Code des obligations; Italian: Diritto delle obbligazioni; Romansh: Dretg d'obligaziuns) is a portion of the Swiss Civil Code that regulates contract law and corporations (Aktiengesellschaft). It was first adopted in 1911 (effective since 1 January 1912).

It is divided into a general part, which applies to all contracts, and a special part, which applies to specific types of contracts, such as sales of goods or loans.

The Code is governed by the principle of the freedom to contract, which includes freedom as to the content and type of the contract, and the freedom of the parties to enter into agreements which are not governed by the special part of the Code.

The first version, drafted by Walther Munzinger and Heinrich Fick, entered into force in 1883, and was subsequently revised and expanded to form the Swiss Code of Obligations of 1912. The first version of the Swiss Code of Obligations inspired similar legislation in Germany, Italy and Turkey. The Code of Obligations was drafted in a strikingly understandable style, without many instances of abstract legal terminology, so that it could be readily understood by the common population.

The Code was revised in 2011, so that in the future requirements for book-keeping and accounting will not depend on a company's legal form, but on its financial size.

...
Wikipedia