Civil Procedure Code (CPC)

Art. 166CPC from 2022

Art. 166

¹ Any third party may refuse to cooperate:

a.

in establishing facts that would expose him or her or a close associate as defined in Article 165 to criminal prosecution or civil liability;

b.

to the extent that the revelation of a secret would be an offence by virtue of Article 321 SCC⁶⁰; auditors excepted; however, with the exception of lawyers and clerics, third parties must cooperate if they are subject to a disclosure duty or if they have been released from duty of secrecy, unless they show credibly that the interest in keeping the secret takes precedence over the interest in finding the truth;

c.

in establishing facts that have been confided in him or her in his or her official capacity as public official as defined in Article 110 paragraph 3⁶¹ SCC or as a member of a public authority, or facts that have come to his or her attention in exercising his or her office; he or she must cooperate if he or she is subject to a disclosure duty or if he or she has been authorised to testify by his or her superior authority;

d.⁶²

when asked to testify as an ombudsperson, marriage or family counsellor or mediator on facts that have come to his or her attention in the course of his or her activities;

e.

when asked in his or her capacity as professional or auxiliary person engaged in the publication of information in the editorial part of a periodical to reveal the identity of the author or the content or source of his or her information.

² The confidants of other legally protected secrets may refuse to cooperate if they show credibly that the interest in keeping the secret outweighs the interest in establishing the truth.

³ The special provisions of social security law concerning the disclosure of data are reserved.

⁶⁰ SR 311.0

⁶¹ Corrected by the Federal Assembly Drafting Committee (Art. 58 para. 1 ParlA; SR 171.10).

⁶² Amended by Annex No 2 of the FA of 20 March 2015 (Child Maintenance), in force since 1 Jan. 2017 (AS 2015 4299; BBl 2014 529).