SwitzerlandFederal Act on the Protection of the Swiss Coat of Arms and Other Public Signs, use of coats of arms, official designations, national signs and foreign state emblems (Arts. 8, 9, 10, 11, 15 and 28)
In force since .
A false affiliation rule binding public and private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
What it requires
- Do not use the Swiss coat of arms, the coat of arms of a canton, a commune or another public authority recognised under cantonal law, or a sign that could be confused with one of them, unless you are the public body to which it belongs (Art. 8(1)).
- You may use such a coat of arms as an illustration in a dictionary, reference work, scientific work or similar work, and for the other uses listed in Article 8 paragraph 4 (Art. 8(4)).
- Do not use an official designation, such as «Confederation», «federal», «canton», «cantonal», «commune» or «communal», or any other term that implies a Swiss authority or an official or semi-official activity, or a term that could be confused with one, on its own unless you are the public body to which it belongs or you are carrying out an official or semi-official activity (Art. 6 and Art. 9(1) and (2)).
- You may use an official designation together with other word or figurative elements only to the extent that the use is neither misleading nor contrary to public policy, morality or applicable law (Art. 9(3)).
- You may use flags and other emblems of the Confederation, cantons, communes and other public authorities recognised under cantonal law, and national figurative and word signs such as Swiss landmarks, heroic figures, sites or monuments, only to the extent that the use is neither misleading nor contrary to public policy, morality or applicable law (Arts. 7, 10 and 11).
- Do not use the coat of arms, flag or other emblem of a foreign state, a sign that could be confused with one, or a foreign national figurative or word sign, unless you are that state or it authorises you (Art. 15(1) and Art. 16(1)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What this law does
Article 8 paragraph 1 of the Federal Act on the Protection of the Swiss Coat of Arms and Other Public Signs provides that the Swiss coat of arms, the coats of arms of the cantons, the communes and other public authorities recognised under cantonal law, and signs that could be confused with them, may only be used by the public body to which they belong.
Article 9 paragraph 1 provides that official designations, and terms with which they could be confused, may only be used on their own by the public body to which they belong. Under article 6 the official designations include any terms that imply a Swiss authority or an official or semi-official activity.
Article 15 paragraph 1 provides that coats of arms, flags and other foreign state emblems, signs that could be confused with them, and national figurative and word signs of foreign states may only be used by the state to which they belong.
Under article 28 paragraph 1 a person who wilfully and unlawfully affixes protected public signs to items, uses an official designation, or uses a domestic or foreign national figurative or word sign is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding one year or a monetary penalty. The Act came into force on .
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