FoIA / FADP

Requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA)

Under the Federal Act on Freedom of Information in the Administration (FoIA), anyone can request access to official documents produced by the Federal Administration, without having to prove any special interest.

The FoIA does not apply to access official documents relating to criminal proceedings and international mutual assistance procedures. The legal basis for these matters are the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code (CrimPC) and the Federal Act on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (IMAC) respectively.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) therefore only responds to requests for access based on the FoIA when they relate to administrative matters (e.g. the management of the OAG or the fulfilment of its tasks). Only documents issued after 1 July 2006 can be accessed.

Access to official documents is, in principle, not subject to the payment of a fee. A fee may be charged when the access request requires a significant additional workload for the authority (only the time exceeding 8 hours of work is taken into account). The applicant will be informed in advance if the charging of a fee is envisaged, as well as the amount thereof. If you wish to proceed with your request, you must confirm this to the OAG within 10 days. Otherwise, the request will be considered withdrawn.

There are no formal requirements for making a request and no reasons need to be given. Please indicate that your request is based on the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA). The request must contain sufficient information to enable the OAG to identify the official document requested.

You can find further information on the Freedom of Information Act on the website of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).

Requests for information under the Data Protection Act (FADP)

Anyone can ask the OAG for information on whether the OAG has processed data relating to them. For identification purposes and to protect against access by unauthorized third parties to the personal data of applicant, the OAG generally does not provide information by e-mail. Requests for information must therefore be made in writing and be accompanied by a copy of an official form of identification (e.g. identity card or driver's license) to the postal address listed below.

In principle, the information is provided free of charge in written form. In exceptional cases, the OAG may charge a contribution towards the costs, but it may not exceed CHF 300. The applicant will be notified of the amount of any share of costs before the information is provided and may withdraw their application within 10 days.

You can find further information on the Data Protection Act on the website of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) or you can contact our data protection counselling service.