The new Accounting Law (nAL) came into force on 1 January 2013. Below is a summary of a few key elements of the revision. In addition to accountants, these changes could also be of interest to managers and advisors, for instance regarding the preservation of archives or the elimination of business reports for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union revised the Brussels I Regulation (Regulation No 44/2001) on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. The revised Brussels I Regulation (Regulation No 1215/2012) is already in force but will only apply to proceedings within the EU from 10 January 2015.

More than 12,000 charitable foundations are active in Switzerland. These foundations finance themselves primarily by the endowment at the time they are set up and by donations and other gifts. Many foundations, however, also realise income by trading with products and providing services. The corresponding revenue is again applied towards the purpose of the trust/foundation, thus used within the scope of the charitable purpose. A recently published practice of the Federal Tax Administration may now cost such foundations a lot of money.

On the 1^st July of this year, Croatia will become the 28^th Member State of the European Union. With this EU extension, Community trade marks and Community designs will automatically be extended to Croatia. This automatic extension is, however, not tantamount to an automatic enforceability of the rights within the new member state.  Already now it is recommended to  included Croatia in European trademark clearance searches.

The Landgericht in Cologne, Germany, has issued a judgment on December 18, 2012 regarding the claim of Haribo forbidding the sale of chocolate bears wrapped in golden foil within the German market. The Cologne court ruled that the design of the Lindt Teddy infringed the word mark GOLDBÄREN (golden bear) registered by Haribo. The attention of the media was quite considerable not only in Germany but also in Switzerland.

On 1^st January 2013 entered into force the new Articles 210 and 371 CO modifying the statute of limitation applicable to warranty claims for purchase and work contracts. The revision brings three substantial modifications.

The popular initiative "against rip-off salaries" was approved by the Swiss voters on 3 March 2013, introducing drastic requirements for Swiss stock companies listed in Switzerland or abroad. The forms in which members of governing and executive bodies can be remunerated will be greatly reduced, the annual general meeting will receive more powers, and the articles of incorporation must in particular be expanded by several text passages concerning the compensation policy. The specific implementation of these measures, however, is still unclear in most points.