Defamation and Online Harassment Laws in Switzerland

Swiss defamation law is written federal law, not common law. The Criminal Code sets out the offences against personal honour in Articles 173 to 178. On the civil side, Article 28 of the Civil Code protects anyone whose personality rights are unlawfully infringed, Article 28a lists the court orders available, and Articles 41 and 49 of the Code of Obligations provide for damages and for a sum of money as satisfaction for serious infringements.

Sources1Swiss Criminal Code (SCC), Arts. 173-178, official English translation (Fedlex)2Swiss Civil Code (CC), Arts. 28 and 28a, official English translation (Fedlex)3Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), Arts. 41 and 49, official English translation (Fedlex)

Defamation is a criminal offence in Switzerland. Accusing someone, when speaking to a third party, of dishonourable conduct or other conduct likely to harm their reputation, or spreading such an accusation, is punishable by a monetary penalty (Art. 173 SCC); doing so while knowing the claim is false carries up to three years in prison or a monetary penalty (Art. 174), and insult carries a monetary penalty of up to 90 daily penalty units (Art. 177). These offences are prosecuted only if the victim files a complaint, and spoken statements are treated the same as written ones (Art. 176).

Source1Swiss Criminal Code, Arts. 173, 174, 176 and 177, official English translation (Fedlex)

Swiss law does not separate libel from slander. Civil claims for damages or satisfaction expire three years after the injured person learned of the harm and of who is responsible, and in any case ten years after the harmful conduct took place or ended; if the conduct was also a crime, the civil claim lasts at least as long as the right to prosecute (Art. 60 CO). For criminal cases, the complaint must be filed within three months of learning the suspect's identity (Art. 31 SCC), and the right to prosecute honour offences expires after four years (Art. 178 SCC).

Sources4Swiss Code of Obligations, Art. 60, official English translation (Fedlex)5Swiss Criminal Code, Arts. 31 and 178, official English translation (Fedlex)

Switzerland does not use the common-law idea of defamation per se. Instead, Article 173 SCC covers any accusation or suspicion of dishonourable conduct or other conduct likely to damage a person's reputation, and the speaker avoids a penalty only by proving the statement true or that they had substantial grounds to believe it in good faith. On the civil side, a sum of money as satisfaction can be awarded when the infringement of personality rights is serious enough and no other amends have been made (Art. 49 CO).

Sources1Swiss Criminal Code, Art. 173, official English translation (Fedlex)3Swiss Code of Obligations, Art. 49, official English translation (Fedlex)

Switzerland has no specific anti-SLAPP law. Answering a 2024 parliamentary question (Interpellation 24.3325), the Federal Council said Swiss law already allows courts to fend off clearly abusive claims, for example under Articles 52 and 59 of the Civil Procedure Code, and that it saw no current need for further measures. An earlier parliamentary initiative (22.429) asking for SLAPP rules modelled on the EU's draft directive has been closed.

Sources6Swiss Parliament (Curia Vista), Interpellation 24.3325 and Federal Council response of 8 May 20247Swiss Parliament (Curia Vista), Parliamentary initiative 22.429 (not pursued by the National Council, 7 March 2023)

Anyone whose personality rights are directly affected by a report in periodical media, such as the press, radio or television, has a right of reply under Article 28g of the Civil Code. The reply must be short and stick to the disputed report, and it must be sent to the media company within 20 days of learning of the report and no later than three months after publication; the outlet may refuse a reply that is plainly incorrect or unlawful, but otherwise must publish it free of charge and in a way that reaches the same audience (Arts. 28h-28k). Separately, a person who brings a personality-rights case can ask the court to have the correction or judgment notified to third parties or published (Art. 28a).

Source8Swiss Civil Code, Arts. 28a and 28g-28l, official English translation (Fedlex)

Under Article 173 SCC, a defendant is not punished if they prove the statement was true or that they had substantial grounds to believe in good faith that it was true. That defence is not available when the statement was made mainly to accuse someone of disreputable conduct with no public interest or other justified reason, especially about private or family life. Under the Civil Code, an infringement of personality rights is lawful if justified by consent, an overriding private or public interest, or the law (Art. 28(2) CC), and accurate reporting of public talks and official communications from a public authority cannot be prosecuted (Art. 28(4) SCC).

Sources1Swiss Criminal Code, Arts. 28 and 173, official English translation (Fedlex)2Swiss Civil Code, Art. 28, official English translation (Fedlex)

Since 1 January 2026, Article 181b SCC makes stalking a specific crime: persistently pursuing, harassing or threatening someone in a way likely to seriously restrict their freedom to live as they wish. It is prosecuted on complaint and carries up to three years in prison or a monetary penalty. The text does not limit the offence to physical conduct, and civil courts can also order a harasser to stop contacting someone by phone, in writing or electronically (Art. 28b CC).

Sources9Swiss Criminal Code, Art. 181b, official English translation (Fedlex)10Swiss Civil Code, Art. 28b, official English translation (Fedlex)

Using a telecommunications installation to cause distress to or harass another person is a crime under Article 179septies SCC, punishable on complaint by up to one year in prison or a monetary penalty. Serious threats (Art. 180 SCC) and using another person's identity without consent to harm them or to gain an unlawful advantage (Art. 179decies SCC, in force since 1 September 2023) are also crimes, and the honour offences in Articles 173-177 apply to online posts as to any other statement.

Source11Swiss Criminal Code, Arts. 179septies, 179decies and 180, official English translation (Fedlex)

The Swiss Criminal Code has no offence specifically named doxxing. Depending on the facts, related conduct may fall under obtaining particularly sensitive, non-public personal data without authorisation (Art. 179novies SCC) or stalking (Art. 181b SCC). Under data protection law, disclosing sensitive personal data to third parties is in principle a breach of personality rights (Art. 30(2)(c) FADP), and the affected person can ask a court to prohibit the disclosure or order the data deleted (Art. 32 FADP).

Sources12Swiss Criminal Code, Arts. 179novies and 181b, official English translation (Fedlex)13Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), Arts. 30 and 32, official English translation (Fedlex)

Since 1 July 2024, Article 197a SCC makes it a crime to pass on private sexual content, such as images or recordings, without the consent of the person who can be recognised in it. It is prosecuted on complaint and carries up to one year in prison or a monetary penalty, rising to up to three years if the offender published the content. Using a camera to record information from someone's private sphere without permission, and passing on such recordings, is also punishable under Article 179quater SCC.

Sources14Swiss Criminal Code, Art. 197a, official English translation (Fedlex)15Swiss Criminal Code, Art. 179quater, official English translation (Fedlex)