In Switzerland, the NCP is located at the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) at the International Investment and Multinational Enterprises unit. Specific instances are handled by an internal working group composed of members of the Federal Administration responsible for the issues addressed in a specific instance. The organization and activity of the NCP is based on the Declaration of the OECD Ministerial Council on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises and on the Decree of May 1st 2013 on the Organization of the National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and its advisory board (Classified compilation 946.15).
The approach of the National Contact Point in concrete cases
The NCP receives credible information that a company has not respected the Guidelines - or at least part thereof. In a preliminary examination, the NCP collects facts of the specific case (substantial content of the submission, justification, relevance) as well as the parties involved (identity, interest in the input) and decides whether a connection with the OECD Guidelines can be established. If this is the case, the NCP contacts the parties involved. The NCP may offer a platform for dialogue or assumes the role of a mediator and thus tries to contribute to an agreement between the parties. The mediation process is in general confidential and requires the consent of all parties. However, with respect to the results of the procedure, the NCP needs to find a balance between transparency and confidentiality. The NCP publishes the results of a procedure if both parties agree and a solution is found for a conflict. In the case where no agreement is reached, the NCP publishes this result as well. Furthermore, the NCP can make recommendations where appropriate.
The outcome of the NCP's involvement in specific cases is made public on the website of the Swiss National Contact Point and the OECD Database on Specific Instances.
Submissions to the National Contact Points
The NCP is at any time available for general questions as well as comments with regards to the OECD Guidelines or the National Contact Point.
Both individuals and any interest groups may address the NCP if they wish to raise a company behaviour which might be inconsistent with the Guidelines. The issue should be raised in the country where the violation occurred. If this country is not a signatory country of the OECD Guidelines and consequently does not have a NCP, the issue should be raised in the country where the multinational company has its headquarters. Although there is no formal template for such a submission, it is recommended to disclose its own identity and interest in the case as well as details about the company concerned. Furthermore, it is helpful for the work of the NCP to indicate reference to the specific provisions of the Guidelines, which might have been violated (Specific Instance Procedure (PDF, 117 kB, 24.02.2016)). The NCP has established a Checklist for the wording of a submission (PDF, 268 kB, 16.12.2021). The Swiss NCP can use the following languages for the handling of submissions: German, French, Italian, and English.
