According to Art. 197 CPC (Swiss Civil Procedure Code), an attempt at conciliation must be made with the competent conciliation authority before any decision-making procedure. Art. 198 ZPO lists numerous exceptions. If a dispute falls under one of the exceptions listed in Art. 198 CPC, the conciliation procedure does not apply. One example of an exception is divorce proceedings.
Initiation of the conciliation procedure
The conciliation procedure is initiated by filing a conciliation request with the competent conciliation authority. The request is subject to no strict requirements. The aim of conciliation is that it can also be initiated by legal laypersons. The request must contain the parties’ details. Furthermore, it must include the legal claims, i.e., the applications submitted by the parties, which are to be decided on and will later form part of the judgment. The subject matter of the dispute must also be specified, although a simple description is sufficient (e.g., the surrender of a specific object).
Obligation to appear
To fulfill its main purpose of resolving disputes out of court, the parties must generally appear in person at the conciliation hearing. If a party fails to appear, it is considered a default. If the requesting party defaults, this is deemed a withdrawal of the conciliation request. If the opposing party does not appear in person, the procedure continues as if no settlement had been reached. In such cases, an authorization to proceed with the lawsuit is issued.
Outcome of the hearing
If the parties reach an agreement, the conciliation authority records it in the form of a settlement, an acknowledgment of the claim, or an unconditional withdrawal of the claim. This is signed by the parties and has the effect of a legally binding decision. This means that the dispute is considered finally resolved and may not be brought before the court again.
If no agreement is reached, the conciliation authority issues the requesting party an authorization to file a claim. This generally entitles the party to file a lawsuit within three months at the competent first-instance court.
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