Revision of antitrust law

On May 24, 2023, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the partial revision of the Cartel Act in order to improve its effectiveness and implement three parliamentary initiatives. At the heart of this revision is the modernization of Swiss merger control by switching to the Significant Impediment to Effective Competition Test (SIEC Test). This will bring the review standard for mergers into line with international standards. In addition to the modernization of merger control, civil antitrust law will be strengthened and the objection procedure improved. The implemented demands of the motions to improve the situation of SMEs, to take qualitative and quantitative criteria into account when assessing the inadmissibility of competition agreements and to uphold the principle of investigation without reversing the burden of proof are also part of the revision.

However, a reform of the competition authorities is not included in this partial revision. On March 17, 2023, the Federal Council decided to tackle the institutional reform separately from the ongoing partial revision of the Cartel Act. To this end, a commission of experts was set up to evaluate various options and consult a wide range of interest groups by the end of 2023.