Nagoya Protocol in Switzerland
What does a researcher or company in Switzerland need to consider regarding compliance with the Nagoya Protocol for the handling of microorganisms?
Switzerland has ratified the Nagoya Protocol and anchored it in the Federal Act on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage (NCHA). The corresponding Nagoya Ordinance (NagO) regulates the access and the use of genetic resources.
These genetic resources include all microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi and cell lines of animals, which have been collected after 12 October 2014 in Switzerland or abroad (Nagoya members) on private or public ground. Excluded from this are cell lines of crops (PGRFA) and humans, as well as genetic resources which are regarded as commodities. No PIC and MAT are currently required for access to genetic resources in Switzerland.
Each user (researcher or company) of these genetic resources must, however, fulfil a so-called ‘obligation of due diligence and reporting’. In particular, this includes recording the following information:
- Name and address of the user
- Description of the genetic resource and its use
- Time of access to the genetic resource
- Source of the genetic resource
- When acquiring the genetic resource from an authorized third party: the name and address of that person, as well as the date of acquisition
- In the case of a legitimate distribution of the genetic resource: the name and address of the acquirer and the date of the transfer
- Other Nagoya protocol documents such as PIC and MAT
If a genetic resource will be used for profit either in Switzerland or abroad, the user has to notify the responsible clearing house before market authorization or commercialisation. For genetic resources from Switzerland, this notification has to be submitted to the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) at the user’s expenses with the provided notification form. Notification may also be given voluntarily if no commercialization is intended, but legal certainty and transparency of the origin is necessary within research collaborations. Non-observance of these laws and regulations may lead to prosecution in Switzerland.
CCOS checks the legal situation of every genetic resource in the collection and submit all relevant data to the user, so that researchers and industry can work under Nagoya Protocol compliance.
Useful links to the Nagoya Protocol in Switzerland: