These articles examine how Swiss professional secrecy and in-house legal protections affect investigation records, alongside the choice of forum for life-sciences disputes. They consider disclosure across borders and the different rules that apply to legal advice, evidence and commercial claims.
These articles provide general information and are not legal advice.
Art. 321 of the Swiss criminal code (StGB) makes revealing professional secrets a crime and Art. 271 StGB restricts gathering evidence in Switzerland for foreign proceedings, but a US court may sanction a refusal to produce. In-house counsel's protection turns on pre-dispute choices.
The 2026 ICC Rules, PMAC and English-language courts in Bern and Germany change the choices for cross-border pharma disputes. Agreement dates, patent rights, urgent relief and the location of assets determine which procedure and enforcement route can work.
Art. 167a ZPO (Switzerland's Zivilprozessordnung) creates a conditional civil refusal right for qualifying in-house legal services. A group's investigation report faces separate questions under criminal evidence rules, professional secrecy, employee protection and cross-border disclosure limits.
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