On March 16, 2020, the Federal Council COVID-19 Ordinance 2nd and in Art. 6a created the possibility for stock corporations to hold their general meetings in written or electronic form (via e-voting) and thus without the presence of the shareholders. In any case, this decision by the Federal Council is historic and to be welcomed. To date, there has been no express regulation according to which general meetings can be held electronically. In some cases, the opinion was expressed that Swiss company law offers scope for this. Due to the start of the AGM season and the prevailing corona crisis, the question has arisen for public companies as to whether and how they can hold their upcoming general meetings, especially since a ban on events has been declared. With the new measures enacted by the Federal Council, it was no longer just larger stock corporations that faced a challenge. The current situation forced the Federal Council to react quickly. Exciting and it remains to be seen how the regulation will be implemented in practice.

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