Obligations and contract law

Keeping dogs The Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) contains various types of liability, including so-called "simple objective" liabilities arising from a lack of diligence on the part of the person concerned. They relate to specific dangers inherent in certain installations, activities or situations. In particular, liability of this kind may be incurred by the...

Customer damage - who's responsible? "I manage a group of about ten people in a company. One of the people in this group apparently caused quite a lot of damage to a customer while carrying out work for her: Who is responsible?...

Garage owner's right of retention: "I own a small car that isn't worth much at the moment. Due to technical problems, I've taken it to a garage for a lot of repairs, and I don't yet know how much it's going to cost me. I've heard that in the event of non-payment...

Sales price error "I recently found an item I'd been looking for for a long time on the internet, at a very good price. When I received my order at home, it was accompanied by an invoice for almost double the advertised price, with an accompanying note stating that the price shown on the website was...

Invoices: what is the payment deadline? "I'd like to know what the rules are on the payment period for invoices, which I thought was 30 days. However, on several occasions I've received invoices that have to be paid within 15 days or even less. Can you tell me what the regulations are and what the...

Do I have to read all the terms and conditions? I never read the terms and conditions when I buy something, for example on the internet, because it's far too long and boring! What's more, I understand that if I have a problem, I could argue that certain clauses are bizarre. Am I right, or should I follow the recommendations of my...

Is this restaurant owner acting within his rights? "I booked a table at the restaurant for an evening of wine tasting with several friends, but unfortunately some of them cancelled at the last minute. He finally agreed to compensate them...

What "it's the law" means" For me, when something seems compulsory, I say that "it's the law", but a friend recently took me up on the subject with some subtle distinctions that I'm afraid I didn't quite understand. Could you enlighten me for our next discussion on...

Burnt by my iron " Steam escaped from the reservoir of my iron, even though it was closed properly. My hand was burnt. Since then, the iron I bought a year ago has stopped working. What are my rights? Marie, Lully In the event of a defect in an item sold, it's up to the buyer to...