Switzerland Freedom of Information Request on behalf of the Mar Menor Lagoon

Summary

In July 2025, the Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) admitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted on behalf of the Mar Menor saltwater lagoon, an ecosystem recognized as a subject of rights and legal entity under Spanish law. The request concerned the Swiss Federal Act on Climate Protection Goals, Innovation and Strengthening Energy Security (Climate Protection Act), which entered into force on January 1, 2025.

Legal Reasoning:
On July 3, a citizen acting as Mar Menor’s legal representative filed an FOI request with SIF citing Swiss and international law: Article 6 of the Swiss Freedom of Information Act (FoIA), Article 4 of the Aarhus Convention, and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The request sought information on measures taken by SIF under Article 10 of the Climate Protection Act, noting that climate change threatens the Spanish ecosystem.

The lagoon’s representative argued that Spanish Law 19/2022 (Mar Menor Act) authorized natural persons to enforce Mar Menor’s rights. SIF acknowledged this authority but expressed doubts about whether Spanish law could have extraterritorial effect in Switzerland. For pragmatic reasons, SIF chose to treat the request as submitted by the citizen rather than Mar Menor. To this the representative objected, stating: “I hope that you can understand that my client does not agree with this approach.” She insisted Mar Menor should be recognized as a subject of rights before Swiss authorities, citing Articles 154 and 155 of the Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law (IPRG) and Federal Supreme Court precedents affirming the incorporation theory (BGE 138 III 714 E. 3.3.3; BGE 117 II 494 E. 4b). These decisions confirm that foreign entities constituted as legal persons under their domestic law “enjoy legal capacity in Switzerland and consequently also the capacity to be a party” (BGE 138 III 714 E. 3.3.4; see also BGE 135 III 614 E. 4.2). Accordingly, Mar Menor’s legal capacity is governed by Spanish law.

On July 10, SIF thanked Mar Menor for its submission and noted the legal argument that FoIA is intended to serve a broad public purpose (Art. 1) and it grants “every person” a broad right to access information (Art. 6); as such, it agreed to continue the procedure with the lagoon as applicant. On July 18, the legal representative welcomed the acknowledgment of Mar Menor as a foreign legal entity under IPRG, confirmed her authority to act on its behalf, and further specified the environmental information requested.

On August 8, SIF confirmed it had begun processing the FOI request. On September 19, however, it clarified that the request was not being processed at this informal stage of the procedure on the basis of formally recognizing Mar Menor’s legal personhood, but on the basis of the special characteristics of the Swiss Freedom of Information Act and its broad scope of application. SIF noted that FoIA imposes almost no requirements on applicants, as it’s purpose is to broadly grant the public access to official documents (Art. 1: “to everyone and everything”). This approach allowed SIF to proceed with the request while leaving the question of Mar Menor’s legal capacity in Switzerland open. SIF emphasized that the question of legal capacity was not decisive in this case. The representative disputed this interpretation. The procedure remains pending.

Legal Force:
The course of this procedure is not a formal ruling (e.g. in the form of a legally binding order) on Mar Menor’s legal capacity and standing in Switzerland. This is an informal procedure regarding access to official documents with Mar Menor as the applicant. SIF proceeded under the broad scope of FoIA, and this does not constitute a formal position statement by the Swiss government.

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