brunnolou/swiss-code-of-obligations huggingface dataset:
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
I. Particularities of different types of surety
3. Co-surety

Art. 497

1 Where two or more persons stand surety for a single divisible principal obligation, each of them is liable as simple surety for his share and as collateral surety for the shares of the others.

2 Where they have assumed joint and several liability by agreement with the principal debtor or among themselves, each of them is liable for the whole obligation. However, a co-surety may refuse to pay more than his share where debt enforcement proceedings have not been commenced against all other jointly and severally liable co-sureties who entered into the contract of surety before him or at the same time and who may be sued for the obligation in Switzerland. He has the same right if his co-sureties have paid their share or furnished real security. Unless otherwise agreed, a co-surety who has paid his share has a right of recourse against other jointly and severally liable co-sureties to the extent that each of them has not yet paid his share. This right may be exercised before recourse against the principal debtor.

3 Where it was apparent to the creditor that the surety entered into the contract on condition that others would stand surety with him for the same principal obligation, the surety is released if such condition is not fulfilled or if subsequently one of the co-sureties is released from his liability by the creditor or if his undertaking is declared invalid. In this last case the court may also, on grounds of equity, simply adjudicate that the surety’s liability be reduced by an appropriate amount.

4 Where several persons have independently agreed to stand surety for the same principal obligation, each of them is liable for the whole amount of his own commitment. However, unless otherwise agreed, a surety who pays such amount has a right of recourse against the others for their respective shares.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
I. Particularities of different types of surety
4. Collateral surety and counter-surety

Art. 498

1 A collateral surety who stands surety to the creditor for performance of the obligation assumed by the primary surety is liable together with the latter in the same way as a simple surety is liable with the principal debtor.

2 A counter-surety stands surety for the right of recourse against the debtor accruing to the primary surety who honours his commitment.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
1. Relationship between the surety and the creditor
a. Scope of liability

Art. 499

1 In all cases, the surety’s liability is limited to the maximum amount indicated in the surety bond.

2 Unless otherwise agreed, he is liable up to this limit for:

1.

 the amount of the principal obligation, including the legal consequences of any fault or default on the part of the principal debtor, but not for damage resulting from the extinction of the contract and any contractual penalty unless this was expressly agreed;

2.

 the costs of debt enforcement proceedings and legal action brought against the principal debtor, provided that the surety was given timely opportunity to avoid them by satisfying the creditor, and, where applicable, for the costs of delivering pledges and transferring liens;

3.

 interest at the contractually agreed rate up to a maximum of the interest payable for the current year and the previous year or, where applicable, for the annual payments due for the current year and the previous year.

3 Unless otherwise provided by the contract or dictated by the circumstances, the surety is liable only for the principal debtor’s obligations arising after the contract of surety was concluded.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
1. Relationship between the surety and the creditor
b. Reduction of liability by court order

Art. 500

1 Unless otherwise agreed at the outset or by subsequent amendment, the amount for which a surety who is a natural person is liable decreases every year by three per cent or, where the claim is secured by mortgage, by one per cent of the original maximum liability. In all cases where the surety is a natural person, the amount decreases in at least the same proportion as the obligation.

2 This does not apply to contracts of surety in favour of the Confederation or its public institutions or in favour of a canton for the performance public law obligations such as customs duties, taxes and the like, and for freight charges, or to contracts of surety for the performance of official and civil service obligations or for obligations of variable amount, such as current accounts and contracts for delivery by instalments, and for periodic, recurrent obligations.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
1. Relationship between the surety and the creditor
c. Resort to the surety

Art. 501

1 The creditor may not apply to the surety in respect of the principal obligation before the date fixed for its payment even if such date is brought forward following the principal debtor’s bankruptcy.

2 Under a contract of surety of any type, in exchange for furnishing real security, the surety may request that the court suspend the debt enforcement proceedings against him until all pledges have been realised and a definitive certificate of loss has been issued against the principal debtor or a composition agreement has been concluded with the creditors.

3 Where the principal obligation may not fall due without notice being served by the creditor or the principal debtor, the time limit for the surety does not commence until the date on which he receives such notice.

4 Where the obligation of a principal debtor residing abroad is annulled or restricted by foreign legislation, such as by provisions relating to clearing systems or a ban on currency transfers, a surety resident in Switzerland may also rely on such legislation unless he has waived this defence.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
1. Relationship between the surety and the creditor
d. Defences

Art. 502

1 The surety is entitled and obliged to plead against the creditor all defences open to the principal debtor or his heirs which are not based on the insolvency of the principal debtor. Suretyship for obligations that are not binding on the principal debtor owing to error or incapacity to make a contract or for time-barred obligations is reserved.

2 Where the principal debtor waives a defence that is open to him, the surety may nevertheless plead it.

3 Where the surety fails to plead defences open to the principal debtor, he forfeits his right of recourse to the extent that such defences would have released him from liability unless he can prove that he was unaware of them through no fault of his own.

4 A person who stands surety for an obligation that is not actionable because it stems from gambling or betting may plead the same defences as are open to the principal debtor even if he was aware of that defect.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
1. Relationship between the surety and the creditor
e. Creditor’s duty of diligence and duty to release documents and pledges

Art. 503

1 Where the liens and other securities and preferential rights furnished when the contract of surety is concluded or subsequently obtained from the principal debtor for the specific purpose of securing the claim under surety are reduced by the creditor to the detriment of the surety, the latter’s liability is decreased by an equal amount unless it can be proven that the damage is less. Claims for restitution of the over-paid amount are unaffected.

2 Moreover, in the case of contracts of surety for the performance of official and civil service obligations, the creditor is liable to the surety if, as a result of his failure to supervise the employee as required or to act with the diligence that could reasonably be expected of him, the obligation arose or increased to an extent that it would not have otherwise reached.[271](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/27/317%5F321%5F377/en#fn-d8e16079) 

3 On being satisfied by the surety, the creditor is required to furnish him with such documents and information as are required to exercise his rights. The creditor must also release to him the liens and other securities furnished when the contract of surety was concluded or subsequently obtained from the principal debtor for the specific purpose of securing the claim under surety or must take the requisite measures to facilitate their transfer. This does not apply to liens and rights of pledge held by the creditor in relation to other claims where they take precedence over those of the surety.

4 Where the creditor refuses without just cause to take such measures or has alienated the available evidence or the pledges and other securities for which he is responsible in bad faith or through gross negligence, the surety is released from his liability. He may demand the return of sums already paid and seek compensation for any further damage incurred.

[271](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/27/317%5F321%5F377/en#fnbck-d8e16079) Amended by No II Art. 1 No 12 of the FA of 25 June 1971, in force since 1 Jan. 1972 ([AS **1971** 1465](eli/oc/1971/1465%5F1461%5F1461/en);[BBl **1967** II 241](eli/fga/1967/2%5F241%5F249%5F177/en)). See also the Final and Transitional Provisions of Title X, at the end of this Code.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
1. Relationship between the surety and the creditor
f. Right to demand acceptance of payment

Art. 504

1 As soon as the principal obligation falls due, even as a result of the bankruptcy of the principal debtor, the surety may at any time demand that the creditor accept satisfaction from him. Where several persons stand surety for an obligation, the creditor is obliged to accept even a part payment, provided it at least equals the share of the surety offering payment.

2 Where the creditor refuses without just cause to accept payment, the surety is released from his liability. In this event the liability of all other jointly and severally liable co-sureties is decreased by the amount of his share.

3 If the creditor is prepared to accept satisfaction, the surety may pay him even before the principal obligation falls due. However, the surety has no right of recourse against the principal debtor until the obligation falls due.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
1. Relationship between the surety and the creditor
g. Creditor’s duty to notify and to register his claim in bankruptcy and composition proceedings

Art. 505

1 Where the debtor is six months in arrears in the payment of capital, interest accrued over half a year or an annual repayment, the creditor must notify the surety. The creditor must inform the surety of the status of the principal obligation on request.

2 In the event of bankruptcy or composition proceedings concerning the principal debtor, the creditor must register his claim and do everything conscionable to safeguard his rights. He must inform the surety of the bankruptcy or debt restructuring moratorium as soon as he himself learns of it.

3 Should the creditor fail to take any of these actions, he forfeits his claims against the surety to the extent of any damage to the latter resulting from such failure.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
2. Relationship between surety and principal debtor
a. Right to security and release

Art. 506

The surety may require that the principal debtor furnish security and demand his release from liability once the principal obligation falls due:

1.

 where the principal debtor breaches the agreements made with the surety, and in particular his promise to release the surety by a certain date;

2.

 where the principal debtor is in default or has relocated his domicile abroad and legal action against him in foreign courts has been substantially impeded as a result;

3.

 where the surety faces substantially greater risks than when he agreed to offer the surety because of a deterioration in the principal debtor’s financial situation, a decrease in the value of the security furnished or the fault of the principal debtor.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
2. Relationship between surety and principal debtor
aa. In general

Art. 507

1 The surety is subrogated to the creditor’s rights to the extent that he has satisfied him. The surety may exercise these as soon as the obligation falls due.

2 However, unless otherwise agreed, he is subrogated only to those liens and other securities which had been furnished when the contract of surety was concluded or were subsequently obtained from the principal debtor for the specific purpose of securing the claim. If on paying only part of the debt the surety is subrogated to only part of a lien, the part remaining with the creditor takes precedence over that of the surety.

3 Special claims and defences arising from the legal relationship between the surety and the principal debtor are reserved.

4 Where a pledge securing a claim under surety is realised or the owner of the pledge pays voluntarily, he may only have recourse against the surety for such payment where an agreement to this effect was reached between the pledgor and the surety or the pledge was given subsequently by a third party.

5 The prescriptive period for the surety’s right of recourse commences on satisfaction of the creditor by the surety.

6 The surety has no right of recourse against the principal debtor for payment of any obligation that is not actionable or not binding on the principal debtor as a result of error or incapacity to make a contract. However, if he has assumed liability for a time-barred obligation at the behest of the principal debtor, the latter is liable to him pursuant to the provisions governing mandates.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
B. Substance
II. Common provisions
2. Relationship between surety and principal debtor
bb. Surety’s duty to notify

Art. 508

1 Where the surety pays the principal obligation in full or in part, he must notify the principal debtor.

2 If he fails to do so and the principal debtor pays it again because he was not and could not be expected to be aware of the surety’s payment, the surety forfeits his right of recourse against the principal debtor.

3 This does not affect any claim against the creditor for unjust enrichment.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
C. Termination of the contract of surety
I. By operation of law

Art. 509

1 The surety is released as soon as the principal obligation is extinguished for whatever reason.

2 Where the same person is both principal debtor and surety, the creditor retains the special privileges conferred by the contract of surety.

3 Any surety given by a natural person is extinguished once twenty years have elapsed from the date on which the contract was entered into. This does not apply to contracts of surety in favour of the Confederation or its public institutions or in favour of a canton for the performance of public law obligations such as customs duties, taxes and the like, and for freight charges, or to contracts of surety for the performance of official and civil service obligations and for periodic, recurrent obligations.

4 During the final year of this period, the creditor may resort to the surety even where a longer duration was agreed for the contract of surety, unless the surety has previously extended the contract or replaced it with a new one.

5 The contract of surety may be extended by means of a written declaration by the surety for an additional period of no more than ten years. However, the written declaration is valid only if done no earlier than one year before the contract expires.

6 Where the principal obligation becomes payable less than two years before the contract of surety expires and the creditor was unable to give notice to terminate it sooner, under a contract of surety of any type the creditor is entitled to resort to the surety without prior recourse to the principal debtor or the pledges. However, the surety has a right of recourse against the principal debtor even before the principal obligation becomes payable.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
C. Termination of the contract of surety
II. Fixed-term contract of surety; revocation

Art. 510

1 A contract of surety for a future obligation may be revoked by the surety at any time by means of a written declaration to the creditor, provided that the obligation has not yet arisen, where the principal debtor’s financial situation has substantially deteriorated since the contract was concluded or where it subsequently transpires that his financial situation is substantially worse than the surety had in good faith assumed. Contracts of surety for the performance of official and civil service obligations may no longer be revoked once the official or civil service relationship has come into being.

2 The surety is liable to compensate the creditor for any damage resulting from the fact that he relied in good faith on the contract of surety.

3 Where a contract of surety is concluded for a fixed term, the surety’s liability is extinguished if the creditor fails to assert his claim at law within four weeks of the expiry of such term and to pursue it without significant interruption.

4 Where the obligation is not due at that juncture, the surety may exempt himself from liability only by furnishing real security.

5 If he fails to do so, the contract of surety remains valid, subject to the provision governing the maximum duration of contracts of surety, as if the agreed duration had been until the obligation falls due.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
C. Termination of the contract of surety
III. Open-ended contract of surety

Art. 511

1 Where a contract of surety is concluded for an indefinite term, once the principal debtor’s obligation falls due the surety may, where action may be brought only on such conditions, request that the creditor assert his claim within a period of four weeks, instigate proceedings to realise any existing pledges and pursue his claim without significant interruption.

2 In the case of claims that fall due on expiry of a period of notice served by the creditor, once one year has elapsed since the contract of surety was concluded, the surety has the right to request that the creditor serve notice and, once the obligation is due, exercise his rights in accordance with para. 1.

3 The surety is released if the creditor does not comply with such request.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty:268 The Contract of Surety
C. Termination of the contract of surety
IV. Contracts of surety for official and civil service obligations

Art. 512

1 A contract of surety for the performance of official obligations concluded for an indefinite term may be terminated subject to one year’s notice expiring at the end of a term of office.

2 Where there is no fixed term of office, the surety may terminate the contract by giving one year’s notice expiring at the end of a four-year period commencing when the office was taken up.

3 A person standing surety for the performance of civil service obligations for an indefinite term has the same right to give notice of termination as under an open-ended contract of surety for official obligations.

4 Agreements to the contrary are unaffected.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty-One: Gambling and Betting
A. No actionable claim

Art. 513

1 Gambling and betting do not give rise to a claim.

2 The same applies to advances or loans knowingly made for the purposes of gambling or betting and to contracts for difference and transactions for delivery of commodities or securities that are speculative in character.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty-One: Gambling and Betting
B. Debentures and voluntary payment

Art. 514

1 A promissory note or bill of exchange signed by the gambler or bettor to cover the sum gambled or bet may not be enforced even following delivery of the instrument, subject to the rights that securities confer on bona fide third parties.

2 A voluntary payment may be reclaimed only where the intended gambling or betting activity could not take place as a result of chance occurrence or the actions of the recipient, or where the latter has committed an impropriety.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty-One: Gambling and Betting
C. Lotteries and prize draws

Art. 515

1 Lotteries and prize draws give rise to a claim only where they have been approved by the competent authority.

2 In the absence of such approval, the claim is treated as a gambling claim.

3 Lotteries or draws authorised abroad do not enjoy legal protection in Switzerland unless the competent Swiss authority has authorised the sale of tickets.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty-One: Gambling and Betting
D. Gambling in casinos, loans from casinos

Art. 515a272

Games of chance in casinos give rise to claims where they take place in a casino licensed by the competent authority.

[272](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/27/317%5F321%5F377/en#fnbck-d8e16331) Inserted by Annex No 5 to the Gambling Act of 18 Dec. 1998, in force since 1 April 2000 ([AS **2000** 677](eli/oc/2000/118/en);[BBl **1997** III 145](eli/fga/1997/3%5F145%5F137%5F129/en)).
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty-Two: Life Annuity and the Lifetime Maintenance Agreements
A. Life annuity agreement
I. Nature

Art. 516

1 A life annuity may be created for the lifetime of the annuitant, the grantor or a third party.

2 In the absence of any specific agreement, the presumption is that it is settled for the life of the annuitant.

3 Unless otherwise agreed, an annuity settled for the life of the grantor or of a third party passes to the heirs of the annuitant.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty-Two: Life Annuity and the Lifetime Maintenance Agreements
A. Life annuity agreement
II. Formal requirement

Art. 517

The life annuity agreement is valid only if done in writing.
Division Two: Types of Contractual Relationship
Title Twenty-Two: Life Annuity and the Lifetime Maintenance Agreements
A. Life annuity agreement
III. Rights of the annuitant
1. Exercise of entitlement

Art. 518

1 Unless otherwise agreed, the life annuity is payable every six months in advance.

2 If the person on whom the life annuity is settled dies before the end of the period for which it is payable in advance, the grantor owes the full amount.

3 If the grantor is declared bankrupt, the annuitant may assert his entitlements by bringing a capital claim for the amount that would be required at the time the grantor is declared bankrupt to establish an equivalent contract of annuity with a reputable annuity institution.