Markets/en/Portal:Small Loans/Legal-References:Small Loans
Section 4 of the Small Loans portal, instantiated from the legal references model. Informational only, not legal advice; entries are intended to be reviewed by lawyers.
Legal references: small loans
Switzerland (en 路 fr 路 de 路 it)
The loan between private persons is governed in Switzerland by the Code of Obligations (CO), articles 312 to 318, "loan for consumption" (pr锚t de consommation, Darlehen). Translations below are unofficial; the French, German and Italian texts are authoritative.
CO Article 312: definition
"The loan for consumption is a contract whereby the lender undertakes to transfer the ownership of a sum of money or of other fungible things to the borrower, who undertakes to return things of the same kind in the same quantity and quality."
Plain-language note: lending money to your brother is a real contract under Swiss law, even oral, even without a single signature. Writing it down does not create the obligation; it makes it provable and rememberable.
Source: Swiss Code of Obligations (Fedlex) 路 checked July 2026.
CO Article 313: interest
"In civil matters, the lender may claim interest only if it has been agreed. In commercial matters, interest is payable even without agreement."
Plain-language note: between family, friends and neighbours (civil matters), a loan bears no interest unless the parties agreed on it. This is why the portal's contract states "no interest" explicitly: the written line matches the legal default and prevents later claims either way.
Source: Fedlex 路 checked July 2026.
CO Article 318: repayment when no term was agreed
"A loan for which no term of repayment was set, by agreement or notice, must be repaid within six weeks of the first request."
Plain-language note: if you lent money without ever fixing a date, the law gives the borrower six weeks from the day you first ask. This is the fallback rule the portal's repayment schedule (Annex 1) exists to replace with something both parties actually chose.
Source: Fedlex 路 checked July 2026.
CO Article 127: limitation period
"All claims become time-barred after ten years, unless otherwise provided by federal civil law."
Plain-language note: an unpaid private loan does not live forever: after ten years without valid interruption, the claim can no longer be enforced. Another reason to deal with difficulties early rather than let them age.
Source: Fedlex 路 checked July 2026.
Points requiring lawyer review before operational use
- Form requirements and limits applicable to personal guarantees (cautionnement), which Swiss law regulates strictly and separately from the loan itself.
- The exact legal treatment of pledged objects held by the lender, and of service pledges, which the portal treats as contractual commitments.
- Whether Swiss consumer credit law could apply to any package of this portal (it targets professional lenders; loans between private persons are normally outside its scope, but package designs must be checked).
Other countries
To be added by the market's community, one subsection per country, following the entry format of the legal references model.
See also
- Contract, clauses S3, S5, S6 路 Contracts in action
- Back to the Small Loans portal