Legal action
ETH Zurich decisions (e.g. concerning admission to study programmes, grades, disability compensation etc.) are normally communicated in the form of a decree. This decree contains instructions on the right of appeal, which set out how students should proceed if they wish to take legal action and lodge an appeal with the ETH Appeals Commission. If a decision has not been communicated by decree automatically, you may request a decree from the respective office.
For more comprehensive information on legal action see the document Download Information on Legal Action (PDF, 551 KB) and the webpage of the external page ETH Appeals Commission.
Appeal
If an appeal is lodged, the following should be noted:
Deadline
The appeal must be lodged within 30 days of receipt of the appealable decree. (Exceptions to the regular appeals deadline are set out in Art. 22a of the external page Administrative Procedure Act)
Address
ETH-Beschwerdekommission
Effingerstrasse 6a
Postfach
3001 Bern
Formal requirements
You must state your concrete request (formulated legal request) in a letter of complaint. The request or requests must be accompanied by the respective grounds (with evidence). The appeal must be written in one of Switzerland’s official languages and signed personally. No predetermined blank form is provided.
For further information on the appeals procedure see the webpage of the external page ETH Appeals Commission, and in particular the corresponding external page Information sheet on the appeals procedure (in German and French only).
Help with legal questions is available from the following bodies, among others:
- Legal Advice Office of the University of Zurich (free of charge for members of VSETH)
external page Legal Advice | VSUZH - external page Lawyers’ collective: Legal information from experienced lawyers (in German)
- external page Attorney search | Zurich Bar Association (zav.ch)
- external page Public Service Offer of the Zurich Bar Association