Facts
The bank customer [B.], a US citizen residing in [U.], applied to the Commercial Court of the Canton of Zurich to prohibit the bank [A.] (Switzerland) AG under threat of penalty from transmitting or disclosing the applicant's personal data directly or indirectly abroad or to US authorities. The Commercial Court provisionally prohibited the bank from disclosing to the US authorities data concerning the applicant in relation to three account relationships in which he was the beneficial owner. With regard to a fourth account relationship in the applicant's own name, it did not enter into the action for lack of local jurisdiction.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court largely dismissed the bank's appeal against the decision of the Commercial Court. It stated that the lower court had rightly affirmed its jurisdiction over the three accounts in which the applicant was not a contractual party. Nor was it objectionable that the lower court had placed strict requirements on the bank to prove a justification for any data transmission. The bank had not been able to credibly demonstrate that it would suffer serious detriment from…