Swiss Civil Code in the context of Napoleonic Code

The Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (German: [ˈbʏʁɡɐlɪçəs ɡəˈzɛtsbuːx] , lit. 'Civil Law Book'), abbreviated BGB, is the civil code of Germany, codifying most generally-applicably private law. In development since 1881, it became effective on 1 January 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbreaking project.

The BGB served as a template in several other civil law jurisdictions, including Japan, Korea, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Thailand, Brazil, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, and Ukraine. It also had a major influence on the 1907 Swiss Civil Code, the 1942 Italian Civil Code, the 1966 Portuguese Civil Code, and the 1992 reformed Dutch Civil Code.

The Swiss Banking Act or Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks is a Swiss federal law and act-of-parliament that operates as the supreme law governing banking in Switzerland. Although the federal law has only been amended seven times, it has been revised multiple times to limit and expand its banking secrecy provisions since its ratification. The banking secrecy provisions in the Federal Act are additionally enforced through multiple civil codes in the federal Swiss Civil Code and locally through cantonal law. In December 2017, the Swiss parliament launched a standing initiative and expressed an interest in formally embedding banking secrecy within the Swiss Federal Constitution rendering it a federally-protected constitutional right.

The law was passed by the Federal Assembly of the Swiss Confederation on February 2, 1934, through the power of the constitution's 34th and 64th articles. It was put into force on March 1, 1935. The federal law is best known for Article 47, the specifications regarding banking secrecy. Article 47 makes it a federal crime to disclose the information or activity of clients banking domestically to foreign entities, third parties, or even Swiss authorities without either a) consent or b) an accepted criminal complaint. Many Articles within the Federal Act concern themselves with banking supervision for the sole purpose of enforcing Article 47. The passage of the law (along with key court precedents expanding its meaning) makes Switzerland home to the most strict and expansive banking secrecy laws in the world.