Product provisions and product liability

For reasons of health and safety, environmental and consumer protection and to comply with international and national standards, medicines, cosmetics, cleaning agents, electrical appliances, measuring and weighing equipment, heating systems, pressure containers and motorcycles are subject to certain regulations when imported into and sold in Switzerland.

The law regulates which particular conformity assessment procedures shall apply, depending on the product's hazard potential. The procedures range from self-imposed checks (e.g. for machines) to assessments by government-approved independent conformity assessment centers (e.g. for pressure containers) to government licensing (e.g. for medicines).

These days most countries impose a raft of technical regulations and very few products escape the net. At the federal level in Switzerland, these regulations are contained in more than 30 laws and more than 160 ordinances. In addition, a few technical regulations still exist at the cantonal level.

Mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) are a politically important tool for removing technical trade barriers in the state-regulated sector and are recognized by the World Trade Organization. If the product regulations in two states are of a comparable standard, a conformity assessment conducted under the exporting country's regulations is sufficient to allow the product to be distributed in the other country. Switzerland's MRA with the European Union is the most economically important example (CE marking (Conformité Européene)).
In the main, Swiss product liability regulations are comparable with those in the European Union – the manufacturer is liable for damage caused by defective goods, irrespective of whether the manufacturer itself is negligent. In Switzerland, liability applies to all products put into circulation from 1994 onwards. The health and safety requirements for technical equipment are governed by ordinance. In terms of technical standards, Switzerland has largely adopted European Union regulations, thereby removing any major barriers to exporting to the EU in this area.

The following sections give further details on the regulations relating to a number of important product categories. Due, however, to the large number of laws and ordinances in existence, it is essential that detailed information be sought in specific cases.