Data Protection Ordinance (DPO)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Art. 36 Seat and permanent secretariat
1 The seat of the FDPIC is in Bern. 2 The federal legislation on personnel governs the employment contracts of the employees of the FDPIC’s permanent secretariat. The employees shall be insured with the Federal Pension Fund.
Art. 37 Method of communication
1 The FDPIC shall communicate with the Federal Council via the Federal Chancellor. The Federal Chancellor shall pass on the FCPIC’s proposals, opinions and reports unedited the Federal Council. 2 The FDPIC shall submit reports to the Federal Assembly via the Parliamentary Services.
Art. 37a Conclusion and amendment of declarations of intent
The FDPIC shall report annually to the Federal Council on the declarations of intent that it has concluded and amended regarding its cooperation with foreign data protection authorities.
Art. 37a — Inserted by No I of the O of 29 Oct. 2025, in force since 1 Dec. 2025 (AS 2025 694).
Art. 38 Notice of decisions, guidelines and projects
1 The departments and the Federal Chancellery shall notify the FDPIC of their decisions in anonymised form and of their guidelines relating to data protection. 2 The federal authorities shall submit all legislative drafts to the FDPIC that relate to the processing of personal data, data protection and access to official documents.
Art. 39 Processing personal data
The FDPIC may process personal data, including sensitive personal data, for the following purposes in particular: a. in order to carry out its supervisory activities; b. in order to carry out its advisory activities; c. in order to cooperate with federal, cantonal and foreign authorities; d. in order to fulfil tasks in terms of the criminal provisions in the FADP; e. in order to conduct mediation proceedings and to issue recommendations under the Freedom of Information Act of 17 December 2004 (FoIA); f. in order to conduct evaluations under the FoIA; g. in order to conduct proceedings for access to official documents under the FoIA; h. in order to provide information to the parliamentary supervisory authorities; i. in order to provide information to the public; j. in order to carry out its training activities.
let. e — SR 152.3
Art. 40 Self-regulation
The FDPIC shall issue processing regulations for all automated processing; Article 6 paragraph 1 does not apply.
Art. 41 Cooperation with the National Cybersecurity Centre
1 … 2 The FDPIC shall invite the NCSC to comment before it orders the federal body to take measures under Article 8 FADP.
Art. 41 — Amended by No II 7 of the O of 22 Nov. 2023, in force since 1 Jan. 2024 (AS 2023 746). Para. 1 — Repealed by Annex No 2 of the Cybersecurity Ordinance of 7 March 2025, with effect from 1 April 2025 (AS 2025 169).
Art. 42 Register of processing activities by federal authorities
1 The register of the processing activities by federal authorities shall contain the details provided by the federal authorities in accordance with Article 12 paragraph 2 FADP and Article 31 paragraph 2 this Ordinance. 2 It shall be published online. The register entries on planned automated processing activities under Article 31 shall not be published.
Art. 43 Code of conduct
If a code of conduct is submitted to the FDPIC, the FDPIC shall confirm in its opinion whether the code of conduct meets the requirements of Article 22 paragraph 5 letters a and b FADP.
Art. 44 Fees
1 The fees charged by the FDPIC shall be calculated on the basis of the time taken. 2 An hourly rate of 150 to 250 francs applies, depending on the seniority of the members of staff carrying out the work. 3 In the case of services that are exceptionally extensive, complex or urgent, a surcharge of up to 50 per cent of the fee under paragraph 2 may be added. 4 If the service provided by the FDPIC can be commercially exploited by the person liable to pay the fee, a surcharge of up to 100 per cent of the fee under paragraph 2 may be added. 5 The General Fees Ordinance of 8 September 2004 also applies.
Para. 5 — SR 172.041.1