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The Swiss Federal Council's adoption of the Decree on Electronic Certification Services (Oscert) constitutes a decisive step towards acknowledging the use of digital signatures and securing electronic trading in Switzerland. The Decree came into force on 1 May 2000; it lays down the legal, technical and financial conditions which providers of electronic certification services must meet if they wish to be covered by the Decree and be acknowledged by the appropriate authority. Being covered by the Decree remains optional, however; providers of certification services are therefore still free to offer...

The Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) has adopted a list of events of major importance which must remain freely accessible on television channels and therefore cannot be broadcast exclusively on pay channels in Switzerland. The list has been drawn up by the Federal Office for Communication (OFCOM) after consulting some 70 sport and media associations, including the Swiss Olympic Association. The list approved by the DETEC covers sports events only, and is broadly similar to the lists adopted by other Member States of the Council of Europe. It includes...

On 19 April 2000, the Swiss Executive National Council adopted the draft consultation document for a federal law concerning transparency in administration. The aim of this draft law is to give the public easier access to official documents, thus making the administration more transparent. According to the draft law every person would have what is termed a "right to access", i.e. they could require that they be given the opportunity to inspect official documents and obtain information about such documents. The principle of transparency would be introduced together with the right, for the federal...

The Swiss Federal Council wants to put an end to the consumption of hard porn being exempt from criminal sanctions. Its bill, adopted on 10 May 2000, proposed the addition of a paragraph 3.a) to Article 197 of the Criminal Code. This makes not only anyone manufacturing or commercialising hard porn liable to prosecution - it also includes anyone in possession of such items, regardless of how they have been obtained (purchase, rental, loan, exchange or gift). So that the prosecuting authorities are not inundated, mere consumption will not warrant prosecution - the passive viewer of works of child...

The results of the consultation procedure on the bill proposing new federal legislation on culture and the film industry were published on 24 May 2000. The bill is aimed at relaxing the regulations and providing the Swiss filmmaking industry with a modern means of providing encouragement, giving preference to inducement rather than to intervention. In general, the bill received a favourable reception among those consulted, particularly professionals in the filmmaking and audiovisual industries. Termination of the present authorisation scheme imposed on distributors was approved. On the other hand,...