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General Terms and Conditions for the Provision of Swiss Attorneys Online Services

1. Definitions

1.1 “GCP” means these general conditions of performance.

1.2 “The platform” refers to the Internet portal www.swiss-attorneys-online.ch and all pages that are attached to this domain.

1.3 “I-Law” means the company I-Law Sàrl, domiciled at route de la Lisière 19, 1972 Anzère and of which the registered office is based in Ayent (VS).

1.4 “Service provider(s)” means the lawyer(s) registered in a cantonal register of lawyers within the meaning of Art. 5 of the Federal Act on the Free Movement of Lawyers of 23 June 2000 (RS 935.61, hereinafter referred to as “LawA”) practicing in Switzerland, with which the platform connects the user for the purpose of establishment of a contractual relationship between the service provider and the user.

1.5 “User(s)” means any user of the platform who wishes to establish a contractual relationship with a service provider via the platform.

1.6 “Service request” means any solicitation by a user, via the platform, of a service provider in which the user expresses the willingness to use one of the services offered by the service provider to which the solicitation is addressed. Service requests are treated as offers within the meaning of Art. 3 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (Federal Act supplementing the Swiss Civil Code of 30 March 1911, RS 220, hereinafter referred to as “CO”) as part of the contractual relationship between the service provider and the user.

1.7 “Confirmation of take-in-charge” means the message addressed to the user, by the service provider to whom a service request has been sent by the same user, whereby the service provider confirms that he is able to perform the requested service within a time limit. Confirmations of take-in-charge are treated as acceptances of offers within the meaning of Art. 3 CO as part of the contractual relationship between the service provider and the user.

2. Scope of the GCP

The purpose of these GCP is to use the services provided by I-Law on the online platform.

3. Scope of services and operation of services offered by I-Law

3.1 Via the platform, I-Law provides an online portal through which service providers can offer their business services to users and the latter can use the aforementioned services.

3.2 I-Law undertakes to publish on the platform the information transmitted by the service provider for this purpose and according to the interface of the platform provided for this purpose. However, not all types of information can be published. Only information corresponding to the topics provided by the platform interface will be published.

3.3 The form of the publication is determined by I-Law, depending on the technical possibilities, ergonomics and interface of the platform, the foreseeable costs as well as the limits imposed by the relevant legislation in force.

3.4 By processing a service request via the platform, the user engages the service provider in a direct contractual relationship with the service provider to which it has addressed the said service request. Once the user has made a service request, the platform and I-Law act solely as an intermediary between the user and the service provider, transmitting the information provided by the user(s) to the service provider(s) concerned and by collecting invoices issued by service providers on their behalf.

3.5 In order to link the user and the service provider, the information that I-Law communicates is based on the information provided by the service providers. They are therefore given secure access to the platform, through which they have full responsibility to update all their tariffs, areas of speciality, availability and other information displayed on the platform. I-Law will not itself correct, modify, supplement or update the data provided by service providers.

3.6 Once the service request is received by the service provider, the service provider has one working day to send the user an e-mail confirming the take-in-charge or to notify the user of a refusal to take-in-charge. A copy of this e-mail must be sent to I-Law.

3.7 In the event that the service provider offers the “express” service, he shall have one hour from receipt of the service request to send the user an e-mail confirming the take-in-charge or to notify the user of his refusal to take-in-charge. A copy of this e-mail must be sent to I-Law.

3.8 In the event that the service provider offers the instant messaging service (“chat”), it undertakes to immediately notify the user of the confirmation of the take-in-charge or the refusal to take charge.

3.9 The user is bound by his service request, assimilated to an offer within the meaning of Art. 3 CO, during the period provided for in Art. 3.6, 3.7 or 3.8 GCU. There is no right of withdrawal.

3.10 In the event that the service provider refuses to accept the user's request or fails to reply within the period referred to in Art. 3.6, 3.7 or 3.8 CGU, I-Law undertakes to propose, at the user's request and as far as possible, another service provider meeting the search criteria provided by the user. If no other service provider that meets the search criteria provided by the user is available, no charge may be applied to the user, who will be reimbursed in full of advance payments, if any, already paid in connection with this service request.

3.11 The service provider is legitimated to refuse a service request without a specific reason.

3.12 The contract binding the user to the service provider for the services ordered shall be deemed to have been concluded by sending the take-in-charge confirmation e-mail provided for in Art. 3.6, 3.7 or 3.8 GCU.

3.13 The platform is in principle available from Monday to Sunday, 24 hours a day. Although I-Law provides its Internet services with the utmost diligence, reliability and availability, it is unable to guarantee that its Internet services are accessible without interruption, that the connection to the servers can always be established or that the data stored in the systems remain memorised in all circumstances.

3.14 The services provided by the service providers are subject to the conditions and according to the availability of each service provider with which the platform connects the user. I-Law in no way meets the obligations of service providers towards users and users towards service providers.

3.15 The service provider may indicate to the user how long it intends to respond to the service request of the user. As far as possible, this information is published for each type of service available on the personal space of the service provider on the platform.

3.16 In the event that the service provider is unable to meet the deadline that might have been notified to the user, directly or via his personal space on the platform, he must inform I-Law as soon as possible.

3.17 In the case of Art. 3.16 GCP, the user is absolutely entitled to terminate the mandate binding him to the service provider, even if the service provider has failed to carry out the information provided for in the aforementioned provision.

3.18 The services provided by the service providers will be remunerated by I-Law, which therefore bears responsibility for the establishment and collection of invoices borne by the users.

3.19 To this end, the service provider undertakes to send I-Law an invoice for the take-in-charge of the user by the service provider. The amount recorded as an amount payable will not include remuneration due to I-Law.

3.20 I-Law is obliged to pay the sums due to service providers within 30 days of receipt of the invoice provided for in Art. 3.19 GCP on the bank or postal account indicated when registering on the platform. The service provider is responsible for informing I-Law of any changes to his bank or postal details subsequent to the registration process.

3.21 In the event of a dispute as to the amount invoiced by the service provider for the latter's services, the user must imperatively appeal to the competent fee retention authority of the lawyers.

3.22 In the case of art. 3.21 GCP, I-Law reserves the right to withhold the amount in dispute.

3.23 I-Law's remuneration consists of a commission, the amount of which is determined in accordance with the following tariff, on the services provided by the providers taken directly by I-Law itself:

  • simple written questions (without study of documents) - CHF 10.00  inclusive of tax per question;
  • written questions (with study of documents) - CHF 18.00 inclusive of tax per question;
  • instant messaging service (“chat”) - CHF 01.20 inclusive of tax per minute of connection;
  • phone call (“Skype”) - CHF 18.00 inclusive of tax per 15 minutes of conversation;
  • appointments - CHF 20.00 inclusive of tax per 25-minute session;
  • purchase of a standard document - CHF 05.00 inclusive of tax per document.

The costs arising from the use of telecommunication facilities (telephone, internet, postal mail, etc.) shall be borne exclusively by the service provider and shall not be invoiced either to I-Law or to the user.

3.24 I-Law offers service providers the option of accepting or not having their services evaluated and/or commented by users. The service provider is deemed to accept this option as long as he ticks the corresponding box on the registration form or on the profile page. He accepts the fact that the evaluations and comments of the users are published on the platform.

4. Conclusion, duration and termination of the contractual relationship between I-Law and the service provider

4.1 The service provider wishing to use the services offered by I-Law via the platform and described in the present GCP completes the registration form provided for this purpose on the platform.

4.2 In order to finalise his registration and, consequently, to activate his account, he undertakes to send by e-mail to I-Law (info@i-law.ch), within a period of 7 days from the despatch of the registration form provided for in art. 4.1 of the General Terms and Conditions of Service:

  1. a copy of a currently valid ID  document, as well as a
  2. sworn statement 

4.3 If the time limit mentioned in the preceding paragraph is not respected, I-Law will consider the application for registration withdrawn.

4.4 The contractual relationship between the service provider and I-Law, including the acceptance of these GCP, shall arise by sending the confirmation of registration by I-Law following the completion by the service provider of the Registration requirements described above.

4.5 The contractual relationship between I-Law and the service provider is concluded for an indefinite period.

4.6 They are terminated, as a rule, following the completion by the service provider of the simple and rapid de-registration procedure provided for by the platform.

4.7 The end of the contractual relationship between the service provider and I-Law has no effect on the contractual relationships that may have been established between the service provider and the user.

4.8 I-Law reserves the right to unilaterally terminate the contractual relationship with the service provider in the following extraordinary situations:

  • The service provider has transmitted, in particular for publication or invoicing, incorrect, inappropriate, incomplete or illicit information to I-Law.
  • The service provider no longer qualifies as a “service provider” within the meaning of Art. 1.4 above, does not have or has no further authorisation to practice as required by applicable cantonal or federal law, does not practice in Switzerland or fails to provide I-Law with the declaration provided for in Art. 5.2 GCP.
  • The service provider is subject to disciplinary action by the competent authority.
  • The service provider has hidden or omitted to declare to I-Law the conclusion of a contract with a user-giving rise to the payment of a commission by the service provider to I-Law.
  • The service provider has repeatedly violated the deadlines it has committed itself to meet with the user (Art. 3.15 GCP).
  • The service provider has otherwise violated, even without a fault, the GCP or any other contractual terms relating to the use of the platform between I-Law and the service provider.

4.9 In the event of a breach of the GCP, even without fault, by the service provider, I-Law reserves the right to claim damages from the latter.

4.10 The service provider may unilaterally terminate the contractual relationship with I-Law when the latter is more than 30 days late in relation to a payment deadline (see Art. 3.16 GCP).

4.11 The exercise of the extraordinary right of cancellation by the service provider does not deprive him of the possibility of claiming damages from I-Law for breach of the GCP.

5. Rights and obligations of the service provider

5.1 The service provider undertakes to provide I-Law with full, accurate and up-to-date information for publication. The service provider has an obligation to keep this information up-to-date.

5.2 The service provider undertakes to send I-Law a sworn statement that he complies with the rules of the legal profession within the meaning of Art. 12 LawA, within 7 days of sending the registration form mentioned in Art. 4.1 GCP. For each mandate accepted following a request for service, the service provider will confirm the actuality of this declaration by ticking the box provided for this purpose on the platform.

6. Other duties of the service provider

6.1 The service provider is obliged to create the necessary access data (user ID and password) in the management space of the service providers on the platform. This access data must be kept secret.

6.2 The service provider is responsible for creating the technical preconditions for access to the services of the platform. In particular, the provider must have the necessary computer hardware, operating system, Internet connection and navigation software available.

6.3 The use of the platform services also presupposes that the service provider’s system accepts the cookies transmitted by the platform. It is the responsibility of the service provider to ensure that the necessary adjustments are made.

6.4 It is also the responsibility of the service provider to take the necessary measures to protect his own system. This includes, in particular, the security settings of the browsers used, the installation of a firewall, the use of up-to-date computer virus protection software and regular data backup.

6.5 It is still the responsibility of the service provider to have functional and adequate means of telecommunication in order to be able to communicate with the users of the platform interested in the services of the service provider and to receive any notifications from I-Law concerning the contractual relations with the service provider or concerning the operation of the platform. The costs associated with the use of such means of communication shall be borne exclusively by the service provider.

7. Intellectual property

7.1 The service provider confirms that he holds all the necessary intellectual property rights on the information transmitted.

7.2 By accepting the GCP, the service provider further authorises I-Law to reproduce the information transmitted (name, trade name, trademark, logo, etc.) in order to ensure the publication on the platform.

8. Modification of GCP

I-Law reserves the right to periodically re-examine and adapt the GCP at any time. The modifications and additions made to the GCP are communicated to the user by display on the platform and take effect from this moment.

9. Protection and processing of data

9.1 The service provider accepts that I-Law collects his personal data, including sensitive personal data, and that it can be processed within existing or future contractual relationships between I-Law and the service provider and between I-Law and the users.

9.2 The user authorises I-Law to process personal data, including sensitive personal data, required for billing, customer management and administration of the services offered by the platform, and to publish data provided for that purpose.

9.3 Subject to the foregoing, I-Law will not disclose personal information for marketing purposes.

9.4 I-Law assumes no liability of any kind whatsoever, including in relation to the obligations incumbent upon the owners of files within the meaning of Art. 8 of the Data Protection Act, for data processed by service providers or users.

10. Guarantee and Liability

10.1 I-Law disclaims all liability for the contractual obligations of service providers towards users and of users towards service providers, or for services rendered in connection therewith. The service providers deliver their services under their own responsibility and the users commit themselves under their own responsibility.

10.2 I-Law shall not be liable for damages resulting from incompatibility between the service provider's terminals and the system operated by I-Law or the users, as well as those resulting from the interruption of the transmission of data by the internet service provider of the service provider.

10.3 I-Law endeavours to remedy as soon as possible any malfunctions or failures of the platform. I-Law disclaims any liability for damages that the service provider may incur as a result of the unavailability of its system.

10.4 Finally, I-Law assumes no liability for damages resulting from the communication by service providers or users of inaccurate, incomplete or non-current information. The same applies to a failure to update the information transmitted. No data is verified by I-Law itself.

11. Applicable law and jurisdiction

11.1 Only Swiss law is applicable to the legal relationship between I-Law and the service provider.

11.2 For any litigation relating to the GCP or the use of the platform, the jurisdiction is that of I-Law headquarters.

12. General provisions

If one or more provisions of these GCP are to be ineffective and/or incomplete or become so, they shall be replaced by one or more legally valid provisions, the content of which is as close as possible to the ineffective and/or incomplete provision(s). The ineffectiveness and/or lack of completeness of a provision does not affect the validity of the other provisions.