New TEF Regulation

The Swiss Arbitration Centre issued last May the Supplementary Swiss Rules for Trust, Succession and Foundation Disputes (TEF Rules), which are scheduled to enter into force on 1 July 2025. These Rules represent a major development in the arbitration of private estate disputes, offering a tailored procedural framework that complements and complements the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration.

Indeed, although Swiss law has expressly recognized, since 2021, the validity of arbitration clauses inserted in unilateral acts, both in the Swiss Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) (art. 358 para. 2 CPC) and in Chapter 12 of the Federal Act on Private International Law (LDIP) (art. 178 para. 4 LDIP), the TEF Regulation now integrates this possibility through provisions dedicated to the specificities of disputes in matters of private assets concerning trusts, successions or foundations, with an ad hoc mechanism aimed at ensuring efficiency in the arbitration resolution of disputes.

The TEF Regulation also provides specific provisions regarding the constitution of the arbitral tribunal and the determination of the substantive law applicable in the area of ​​succession.

Using arbitration to resolve such matters avoids the need for litigation in multiple jurisdictions, reduces the risk of conflicting or unenforceable decisions, and helps improve the overall efficiency of dispute resolution.