Timeline for A Swiss watch company seized my watch, saying it was stolen. I bought it 10 years ago. Is that legal?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
16 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2023 at 8:11 | comment | added | xngtng | @Tristan Switzerland is more unified than people think or many Swiss may proclaim. While cantons are given great freedoms in administrative organizations, substantive civil law in Switzerland has been more or less decided on federal level for more than a century, and civil and criminal procedural codes were finally unified a decade ago. | |
| Mar 8, 2023 at 7:34 | comment | added | o.m. | @BernhardDöbler, that's my second bullet point. But the watch is no longer in Germany, it was in Poland when the Polish and Swiss period expired and it is in Switzerland now. | |
| Mar 7, 2023 at 22:04 | comment | added | Bernhard Döbler | According to German law, it takes ten years to gain ownership of an object: "Wer eine bewegliche Sache zehn Jahre im Eigenbesitz hat, erwirbt das Eigentum (Ersitzung)." (BGB § 937) | |
| Mar 7, 2023 at 18:26 | comment | added | o.m. | @Tristan, I misunderstood that. Up to four jurisdictions, then? | |
| Mar 7, 2023 at 10:01 | comment | added | PlasmaHH | After 5 years in germany nobody is intrested in prosecuting any cases of theft anymore... | |
| Mar 7, 2023 at 9:38 | comment | added | Tristan | @o.m. ok? My point is that Switzerland is not a single unified jurisdiction, as there is substantial variation between cantons, and it's not clear that only a single Swiss jurisdiction would apply rather than potentially multiple Swiss jurisdictions (e.g. both that of the canton where the watch is, and that of the canton where the company is registered) | |
| Mar 6, 2023 at 18:56 | comment | added | o.m. | @Tristan, a watch stolen in Germany currently held by a Swiss company, with a person in Poland claiming ownership according to a Polish statute of limitations ... at least Swiss and Polish law should matter, and possibly German law (or at least law enforcement agencies) as well. | |
| Mar 6, 2023 at 17:44 | comment | added | Tristan | @o.m. you raised Switzerland possibly getting involved. I just pointed out that if Switzerland did get involved that wouldn't necessarily involve just one extra jurisdiction | |
| Mar 6, 2023 at 16:59 | comment | added | o.m. | @Tristan, the theft was in Germany, and German police are presumably investigating. If they do not get involved, would there be any case to retain the watch? | |
| Mar 6, 2023 at 10:37 | comment | added | Tristan | three jurisdictions? Isn't this something that could vary by canton in Switzerland, and therefore potentially involve many different Swiss jurisdictions? | |
| Mar 6, 2023 at 10:02 | comment | added | Trish | @quarague I am aware of that (or the dilution of swiss watch as a term), but swiss watchmaking with jewel bearings and the precision is a cultural heritage craftsmanship. The question does not establish if the watch in question was a unique item orn unidentifiable one. A similar distinction can be on Katana in Japan: either it is a properly made handwork, a relic or work of art with cultural significance... or a tool like an iaito (training sword) or a Gunto (sp?) (WW2 officer sword) does barely get that protection. My point was mainly, that "watches are not works of art" can't be generalized. | |
| Mar 6, 2023 at 9:27 | comment | added | quarague | @Trish The idea behind the special rules for works or art is that these are individual and cannot be replicated. I'm not sure this would apply for any non-historic watch. | |
| Mar 6, 2023 at 6:52 | comment | added | jwenting | @Trish the term "Swiss watch" has been diluted so much over the last few decades that that's hardly the case any more. | |
| Mar 6, 2023 at 5:59 | comment | added | PMF | @Trish The source here uses the term "Kulturgut" (cultural heritage item) as requirement for the longer term. Not every piece of art is cultural heritage. | |
| Mar 5, 2023 at 14:53 | comment | added | Trish | swiss watches arguably do count as works of art - and many of them even are registered with their first sale... | |
| Mar 5, 2023 at 8:18 | history | answered | o.m. | CC BY-SA 4.0 |