Ordinance on Data Protection Certification (DPCO)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Art. 1 Requirements
1 Organisations that carry out data protection certifications in accordance with Article 13 FADP (certification bodies) must be accredited. Accreditation is governed by the Accreditation and Designation Ordinance of 17 June 1996 (AccDO), unless the present Ordinance provides otherwise. 2 Separate accreditation is required in each case for the certification of: a. the organisational structure and the procedure (management systems) in connection with data processing; b. products, in particular data processing systems or programs and hardware, as well as services and processes in connection with data processing. 3 The certification bodies must have established organisational regulations and an established certification procedure (certification programme). 4 The minimum qualification requirements for the staff who carry out data protection certifications are set out in the Annex. The certification bodies must prove that they have staff who are qualified in accordance with these criteria.
Para. 1 — SR 946.512
Art. 2 Accreditation procedure
The Swiss Accreditation Service shall consult the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) on the accreditation procedure and the follow-up inspection as well as on the suspension or the withdrawal of accreditation.
Art. 3 Foreign certification bodies
1 Foreign certification bodies that wish to operate on Swiss territory must prove that they hold equivalent qualifications, that they meet the requirements of Article 1 paragraphs 3 and 4 and that they have adequate knowledge of Swiss data protection legislation. 2 The FDPIC shall consult with the SAS before recognising a foreign certification body. 3 It may place a time limit on recognition and make it subject to additional requirements. 4 It shall withdraw recognition if essential conditions or requirements are no longer fulfilled.