In Swiss criminal proceedings the public prosecutor or the court appoints an expert when specialist knowledge is needed, and the parties can comment on the choice of expert and on the questions, and later ask for clarifications or a further report. A party can also commission its own blockchain report: courts treat it as part of that party's submissions rather than as an official expert report, but it can prompt investigations, support seizure requests and challenge the official report. In civil proceedings the court likewise appoints experts, and the parties may file private reports.
Criminal proceedings
The Swiss Criminal Procedure Code (art. 182 ff.) governs court-appointed experts. The authority defines the expert's mandate and questions, and must give the parties the opportunity to comment beforehand and to propose their own questions. Once the report is delivered, the parties can request clarification, additions or the appointment of another expert. The expert is bound by official secrecy and can be held liable for a false report.
In crypto cases the authorities typically need experts to trace stolen or laundered funds, identify exchanges to which production or freezing orders can be sent, and value seized assets. Seizure itself is ordered by the prosecutor; the expert supports it with evidence of where the assets are.
The role of party reports
A victim or a defendant can file a report by an expert of their choice. Although it does not have the status of an official expert report, it is often decisive in practice:
- it gives the prosecutor concrete leads (addresses, exchanges, dates) with a criminal complaint;
- it supports urgent requests to freeze funds at exchanges or stablecoin issuers;
- it helps formulate precise questions for the official expert;
- it highlights errors or gaps in the official report.
Civil, bankruptcy and arbitration
In civil proceedings the Civil Procedure Code (art. 183 ff.) allows the court to appoint experts, and parties may file private expert reports. Blockchain reports are also used by bankruptcy administrators and in arbitration, where the tribunal and parties agree on the procedure for expert evidence.
Proceedings frequently cross borders. A theft reported in Ticino may involve an exchange in another country and a suspect in Italy, so a report written to be understood in both Swiss and Italian proceedings, in the relevant language, avoids duplicate work and helps requests for mutual legal assistance.
Why it matters elsewhere
The Swiss approach is typical of continental European systems, where the authority appoints the expert and the parties shape the mandate, comment on the report and file their own analyses. Readers in other civil law countries will find a similar structure under different names. In common law systems the parties instruct the experts directly, but the same qualities make a blockchain report persuasive anywhere: verifiable transaction references, stated attribution sources and conclusions that stay within the data.
How Advisorn helps
Advisorn, based in Chiasso, prepares signed blockchain reports for Swiss criminal, civil and bankruptcy proceedings, working with the client's lawyer. It can also propose questions for the official expert and review the official report.
Art. 182-191 Swiss CrimPC (experts), Art. 263 ff. Swiss CrimPC (seizure), Art. 183-188 Swiss CPC (expert opinion)
Updated November 2026 · General information, not legal or tax advice on your specific case.