Our location at St.-Oswalds-Gasse 1 in Zug is located in the city center, right next to Zug Castle. The location is easily accessible on foot (within 12 minutes) from Zug station and by public transport from the train station with buses No. 1, 2 and 13 (within 5 minutes).
Our contact details in Zug are:
Swiss Law Solutions KLG, The Ghaemmaghami Law Firm
29 St.-Oswalds-Gasse 1
P.O. Box 7733
6300 train
Phone +41 (0)41 218 55 15
Cell +41 (0)78 694 81 58
Government courts in Switzerland are generally cantonal courts. There are only four federal courts (the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal Criminal Court, the Federal Administrative Court, and the Federal Patent Court). There are no courts at the municipal level, as there are in other countries (e.g., the United States). With a few exceptions, legal disputes are therefore heard in the first and second instances by cantonal courts.
The cantons have a certain degree of autonomy in organizing their judicial authorities. In the canton of Zug, jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters is governed by the Court Organization Act (GOG) (https://bgs.zg.ch/app/de/texts_of_law/161.1).
However, there are also federal requirements that the cantons must comply with. For example, according to Art. 75 para. 2 and Art. 80 para. 2 of the Federal Court Act (BGG), each canton must in principle provide for a two-tier court system. Each canton therefore has at least one court of first instance and one court of second instance. In the canton of Zug, the court of first instance is the Cantonal Court of Zug, which has jurisdiction for the entire canton. See https://zg.ch/de/gerichte/zivil-und-strafrechtspflege/kantonsgericht.
There is no further division of local jurisdiction among district or county courts.
The second instance is the High Court of the Canton of Zug. See https://zg.ch/de/gerichte/zivil-und-strafrechtspflege/obergericht.
However, federal law provides for the higher cantonal court to have jurisdiction as the first and only instance in certain areas of law (e.g., in the field of intellectual property law and in certain competition and liability lawsuits).
The cantons can designate a higher specialized court (commercial court) as the sole cantonal court with jurisdiction over commercial disputes. However, such commercial courts exist only in the cantons of Zurich, St. Gallen, Bern, and Aargau.
Under Art. 197 ff. of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code (ZPO), the cantons must provide for conciliation authorities in civil disputes, i.e., an authority that endeavors to resolve conflicts between parties through mediation and negotiation before they are brought before a court. For most legal disputes, this conciliation procedure must be exhausted before a court may be petitioned. In the canton of Zug, there is a justice of the peace in each of the eleven municipalities. See https://zg.ch/de/gerichte/zivil-und-strafrechtspflege/schlichtungsbehoerden.
In addition, the Labor Law Conciliation Authority is responsible for disputes arising from employment contracts and the Equality Act, and has jurisdiction over the entire territory of the canton. See https://zg.ch/de/gerichte/zivil-und-strafrechtspflege/schlichtungsbehoerden/schlichtungsbehoerde-arbeitsrecht.
The conciliation authority for tenancy and lease law is responsible for disputes arising from tenancy and lease agreements, also for the entire cantonal territory. See https://zg.ch/de/volkswirtschaftsdirektion/arbeitslosenkasse/schlichtungsbehoerde-miet-und-pachtrecht.
Legal disputes are therefore usually dealt with first by the justice of the peace and then by the cantonal court. The higher court then acts as the court of appeal for appeals and complaints against the decisions of the district courts and justices of the peace. As mentioned above, the higher court may also be the sole instance in certain areas of law and constellations.
The final instance in the Swiss legal system is the Federal Supreme Court. For more information on the Federal Supreme Court, see: https://www.bger.ch/home.html. However, the Federal Supreme Court cannot be appealed to in all cases. For example, in financial matters, the value of the claim in dispute must generally exceed CHF 30,000 (Art. 74 para. 1 lit. b BGG).
In the area of criminal prosecution, the public prosecutors of the cantons have general jurisdiction as investigating and prosecuting authorities. There is no further regional division in the canton of Zug. The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Zug is responsible for the entire canton. See https://zg.ch/de/gerichte/zivil-und-strafrechtspflege/staatsanwaltschaft.
If charges are brought, criminal offenses in the canton of Zug are judged by the criminal court. See https://zg.ch/de/gerichte/zivil-und-strafrechtspflege/strafgericht. The court of second instance is then again the High Court of the Canton of Zug and subsequently the Federal Supreme Court.
In the area of administrative justice, administrative matters are initially dealt with by the authorities at municipal or cantonal level.
As a rule, the affected individual can first appeal to the higher administrative authority, i.e. the competent municipal council or the cantonal government. As the appeal authority, this body reviews the appropriateness and legality of the decision in question.
The appeal decision can then be challenged in the administrative court in accordance with the guarantee of legal recourse. See https://zg.ch/de/gerichte/verwaltungsrechtspflege/verwaltungsgericht. The administrative court is independent of the administration and reviews the legality of the decision.
The organization and procedure of administrative justice in the canton of Zug are governed by the Law on Legal Protection in Administrative Matters (VRG) of April 1, 1976. See https://bgs.zg.ch/app/de/texts_of_law/162.1.
The final instance in administrative justice is generally the Federal Supreme Court.
