Why Swiss Law Is Central
BNP’s motion hinges on Article 50 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, a provision enabling full compensation from one wrongdoer when multiple tortfeasors are liable. But the bank argues that accomplice liability is impossible without a “main perpetrator,” and under Swiss law a foreign sovereign cannot be held liable for torts committed abroad.
Since Sudan’s government cannot be treated as a tortfeasor under Swiss law, BNP says the plaintiffs’ theory collapses.
Bank Argues All Three Elements of Article 50 Fail
Even if Article 50 could stand independently, BNP contends the plaintiffs failed to meet its three required elements:
1. Illicit Act by a Main Perpetrator
Swiss law does not apply extraterritorially. Acts committed by a foreign government in its sovereign capacity — “even alleged murder, rape or torture,” the motion states — cannot constitute illicit acts under Swiss tort principles. Without a culpable main perpetrator, BNP argues, accomplice liability is legally impossible.
