In his article in the journal ius.focus 10/2014, Mike Abegg discusses the decision of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, 4A_480/2013 of February 10, 2014. In this case, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court dealt with the question of whether the Swiss cantons can declare other courts competent for commercial law disputes in addition to the commercial court provided for by the federal government. The Federal Supreme Court denied this question. It upheld the exclusive jurisdiction of the commercial court in accordance with article 6 of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code (CPC). In doing so, the Federal Supreme Court demonstrated the limits of the cantonal regulatory powers in the area of court organization.
