All articles

Do you know that claims on WIR-money (CHW) must in principle also be claimed on CHW?

The Federal Supreme Court has ruled in BGer 4A_200/2019: Anyone who owes a performance in WIR money (CHW) cannot be ordered to pay in Swiss francs (CHF). The creditor's claim must be for performance in CHW. Although CHW is not a foreign currency, the decision is based on the legal situation with foreign currencies. If the debtor is exceptionally not a participant in the WIR network (not a WIR settler), he cannot fulfill the claim in CHW, so the creditor can demand the amount in CHF. If the price/demand is set in CHF and a share in CHW (based on the WIR acceptance rate of the creditor) and the debtor defaults on the CHW payment, the creditor is allowed to claim the whole performance in CHF. In the case of CHW, a monetary claim is not assumed, which means that enforcement must be carried out in accordance with real execution (Art. 335 ff. ZPO) rather than by means of debt enforcement.