Measures taken by Switzerland to uphold international law: increased importance since the war in Ukraine

Measures against countries, organisations, and private or legal persons have assumed much more importance in Switzerland with the war in Ukraine.

The Federal Act on the Implementation of International Sanctions (EmbA; SR 946.231) forms the basis for issuing these measures. The EmbA gives power to the Confederation to implement sanctions that have been ordered by either the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) or by Switzerland’s key trading partners – such as the European Union (EU) – and which serve to secure compliance with international law, particularly respect for human rights (Article 1(1) EmbA). Pursuant to Article 1(3) EmbA, coercive measures may, in particular, restrict the movement of goods or payments or technological exchange, as well as potentially limiting rights such as property ones. Measures are issued as ordinances by the Federal Council (Article 2(1) and (3) EmbA).

Following the outbreak of the Ukrainian war in 2022, the existing “Ordinance on Measures in Connection with the Situation in Ukraine” (SR 946.231.176.72; hereinafter “O”) was comprehensively revised. Since then, the provisions of EU regulations issued in connection with the war in Ukraine (namely EU Council Regulation 2023/1214 of 23 June 2023) have been incorporated into this Ordinance on an ongoing basis. Switzerland decides on a case-by-case basis whether to adopt EU law in full, in part, or not at all. For instance, the O specifically regulates the export ban on certain goods.

The increased importance of measures taken by Switzerland is also reflected in the organisational changes within the Confederation, namely with the creation of a separate “Export Control and Sanctions” service area within the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) as of 1 September 2023 (see SECO media release of 21 August 2023). Although border control is, therefore, the responsibility of the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (Article 31(3) O), sanctions are essentially enforced by SECO (cf. Article 31(1) O).