Verjährung · prescription
Prescription does not extinguish a claim. It prevents the creditor from enforcing the claim in court if the debtor raises the defence. That is why the date of any interrupting act is checked before anything else. English lawyers speak of limitation, but the Federal Administration's translation keeps the civil-law term prescription.
Request a demoThe term in four languages
- German
- Verjährung
- French
- prescription
- Italian
- prescrizione
- English
- prescription
Definition
Prescription is the passage of time that allows a debtor to refuse performance of a claim. Under the Code of Obligations, all claims prescribe after ten years unless federal civil law provides otherwise; shorter periods apply to certain claims. A court may not apply prescription of its own accord: the debtor must raise it. Debt enforcement proceedings or an acknowledgement of the claim interrupt the prescriptive period, and a new period then begins.
Swiss federal acts are published in German, French and Italian, and all three versions are equally authoritative. The English term shown here comes from the Federal Administration's English translation, published on Fedlex for information only. Where there is no translation, it follows common usage.
Full glossaryThe term in an official text
powered by Neur.onMit Ablauf von zehn Jahren verjähren alle Forderungen, für die das Bundeszivilrecht nicht etwas anderes bestimmt.
All claims prescribe after ten years unless otherwise provided by federal civil law.
Source: Fedlex, Code of Obligations. In Corrext, this segment and the ones around it appear in Fast lookup CHnell, each with its reference.
Related terms
The interest owed by a debtor who is in default on payment of a pecuniary debt.
Schadenersatz · damagesCompensation for damage caused by non-performance or by an unlawful act.
Konventionalstrafe · contractual penaltyA sum promised in advance in case the contract is not performed.