Glossary
Legal glossary
Short, operational definitions sourced from the statutory text. Built as a reading tool for clients, not a manual for lawyers.
Swiss PILA (Private International Law)
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LDIP art. 61
Choice of applicable law (PILA art. 61)
Faculty for the spouses to subject their divorce to the law of their common nationality rather than Swiss law by default.
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LDIP art. 25-31
Exequatur
Procedure by which a judgment rendered abroad becomes enforceable in Switzerland, or conversely a Swiss judgment abroad.
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LDIP art. 9, 59
Forum shopping
Strategic choice of one national court among several with jurisdiction in order to maximise an outcome — common in binational divorces.
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LDIP art. 2
General forum — actor sequitur forum rei
Procedural principle under which the plaintiff must, as a rule, sue before the court of the defendant's domicile.
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LDIP art. 20
Habitual residence
Effective centre of a person's interests — operational concept of private international law, distinct from administrative domicile.
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LDIP art. 26
Indirect jurisdiction (PILA art. 26)
Test, at the time of recognising a foreign judgment in Switzerland, of the jurisdiction the foreign court would or could have had.
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LDIP art. 59
International jurisdiction (PILA art. 59)
Rule determining whether the Swiss courts can hear a divorce or ancillary divorce action involving an international element.
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LDIP art. 9
International lis pendens (PILA art. 9)
Rule under which Swiss proceedings are stayed when the same matter is already pending before a competent foreign court.
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LDIP art. 27
Swiss public policy (PILA art. 27)
Limit on the recognition of foreign judgments or the application of foreign law where the outcome would offend fundamental principles of Swiss law.
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Swiss Civil Code (CC)
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CC art. 298a
Alternating custody (CC art. 298a)
Arrangement in which the child lives alternately with each parent — possible whenever the concrete conditions allow it.
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CC art. 276-289
Child maintenance (CC art. 276)
Maintenance amount set to cover the direct and indirect costs of the child — appropriate upkeep matching the family's living standard.
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CC art. 470-473
Disposable portion (CC arts. 470-473)
Share of the estate that the deceased may freely allocate by will — the remainder being the forced share of protected heirs.
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CC art. 296-298
Joint parental authority (CC arts. 296 ss)
Default regime since 1 July 2014: both parents continue to exercise parental authority after divorce, save for a duly motivated contrary decision.
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CC art. 172-179
Marital protection measures (CC arts. 172 ss)
Urgent decisions issued by the civil court to organise the spouses' separated life without dissolving the marriage.
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CC art. 196-220
Matrimonial property liquidation (CC arts. 196 ss)
Division between spouses of assets acquired during marriage according to the applicable regime — participation in acquisitions by default in Switzerland.
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CC art. 122-124e
Pension fund split (CC arts. 122-124e)
Equal split, on divorce, of occupational pension assets accrued by the spouses during the marriage.
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CC art. 273-275a
Visitation right (CC art. 273)
Personal right of the non-custodial parent to maintain a personal relationship with the child — and of the child to that relationship.
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Hague Conventions (HCCH)
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HCCH Convention 1980 — art. 4
Child's habitual residence
Central criterion of international family law — the State in which the child has their effective centre of life.
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HCCH Convention 1980 — art. 13
Exceptions to return (Hague 1980 art. 13)
Restricted grounds on which return of the child may be refused — strictly construed by the courts.
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HCCH Convention of 25 October 1980 — arts. 1, 3
International child abduction (Hague 1980 art. 1)
Wrongful removal or retention of a child in breach of custody rights — the 1980 Hague Convention organises its prompt return.
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HCCH Convention 1980 — art. 12
Prompt return (Hague 1980 art. 12)
Default rule: a child wrongfully removed or retained is returned immediately to the State of habitual residence if the application is filed within the year.
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Brussels IIb — EU
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BRX2T art. 30
Automatic recognition (Brussels IIb art. 30)
Mechanism by which a divorce or parental-responsibility decision rendered in one EU Member State is recognised without any special procedure in the other Member States.
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BRX2T Regulation (EU) 2019/1111
Brussels IIb — Regulation (EU) 2019/1111
Unified EU framework for jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of matrimonial and parental-responsibility decisions between Member States.
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Lugano Convention
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LUG art. 53 and Annex I
Lugano certificate (Annex I LUG)
Standardised document issued by the court of origin certifying the enforceability of a decision for the purposes of the Lugano Convention.
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LUG Convention of 30 October 2007
Lugano Convention (CL 2007)
Treaty governing jurisdiction and enforcement of civil and commercial decisions between Switzerland and the EU/EFTA states.
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LUG art. 53 and Annex V
Lugano enforcement certificate (LUG art. 53)
Standardised form issued by the court of origin certifying that a decision rendered in a Lugano State is enforceable and fit to circulate.
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Foreign Nationals Act (LEI)
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LEI art. 44, 47
Family reunification for permit B holders (LEI art. 44)
Right for the holder of a Swiss permit B to bring spouse and children to Switzerland, subject to housing, means and time conditions.
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LEI art. 50
Protection after dissolution of marriage (LEI art. 50)
Retention of the foreign spouse's residence right after divorce or death, subject to either a lasting conjugal union or major personal reasons.
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Disability Insurance Act (LAI)
Supplementary Benefits Act (LPC)
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