The proposed provisions, which will be included in a new chapter of the Code of Obligations, will enable trusts to be used both to structure private assets and for commercial transactions.
Switzerland already recognises trusts established abroad under the terms of the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition (the 2007 Hague Trust Convention), although Swiss law does not provide specific rules regarding trusts. According to the Swiss Federal Council, trusts are playing an increasingly important role in practice and it wants to provide Swiss clients with an alternative to turning to foreign countries to set up trusts.