Contractual Terms and Conditions for the Certification of Experts

1. Scope

These contractual terms and conditions define the procedure for the certification of experts and the conditions for the use of the Certified Expert quality label.


2. General

Certification is conditional upon a completed consultancy mandate, which has been successfully carried out at the request of Switzerland Global Enterprise. Certification is restricted to a combination of characteristics of the consultancy mandate relating to the country, the sector and the service.

The country, sector and service shall depend on the categorisation selected in the Expert Directory.

Experts can obtain several certifications.


3. Certification Conditions

For each certification, the following conditions must be fulfilled for the completed consultancy mandate:

  • Mandate value of at least CHF 1000
  • Positive written feedback from the customer of at least 8 out of 10 satisfaction-points
  • Positive oral or written feedback from the consultant of Switzerland Global Enterprise

For certification, the following conditions, which are independent of the completed consultancy mandate, must also be fulfilled:

  • Complete, up-to-date and active entry in the Expert Directory
  • Acceptance of these contractual terms and conditions for the certification of experts

An audit fee of CHF 279.- is payable for each certification to cover administrative costs.

The audit fee is to be paid by bank transfer.


4. Duration and Scope of Certification

The certification shall come into force upon fulfilment of all conditions and upon payment of the audit fee.

The certification shall remain valid for a maximum period of three years following completion of the consultancy mandate and for as long as the entry in the Expert Directory remains active. If certification is carried out at a later date, the period of validity shall be reduced accordingly.

During the validity of the certification the expert shall be entitled to have the certification entered in the Expert Directory. Entry shall be made at the level of the certified country, the certified sector and the certified service.

The certification must not under any circumstances be used for more than three years after completion of the consultancy mandate. At the end of this period the expert must completely remove the certification in all used forms.

The certification shall be restricted to the branch that has performed the consultancy mandate.


5. Quality Label

During the validity of the certification the expert shall be entitled to use the Certified Expert quality label and to make the corresponding entry in the Expert Directory.

The quality label may be used in text or logo form on the expert’s website, in the email signature and electronic presentations. The express consent of Switzerland Global Enterprise shall be required for all other uses.

In logo form, the quality label may only be used in the sizes specified by Switzerland Global Enterprise. Changes to the logo are prohibited.

When the validity of the certification expires, the expert shall completely remove the quality label in all used text and logo forms.


6. Contractual Penalty

If the quality label is used in text or logo form one month after expiry of the certification or one month after the early termination of the certification, a contractual penalty of CHF 10000 shall be payable. Payment of the contractual penalty shall not exempt the expert from remedying the condition that is contrary to the terms of the contract. The assertion of further damages remains expressly reserved.


7. Early Termination of the Certification

The expert can waive certification at any time without giving reasons.

In the event of violation of these contractual terms and conditions, the general contractual terms and conditions for cooperation with experts or the general contractual terms and conditions for entry in the Expert Directory, or in the event of any other conduct on the part of the expert justifying withdrawal, all certifications shall be suspended with immediate effect without giving reasons.

The expert shall constantly update the entry in the Expert Directory. Should the expert fail to do so, Switzerland Global Enterprise shall have the right to de-activate the entry and to suspend all certifications with immediate effect without giving reasons.

Reimbursement of the paid audit fee shall in all cases be excluded.


8. Copyright and Trademark Rights

All copyright, name and trademark rights in the marking signs and logos provided shall be vested in Switzerland Global Enterprise. The expert shall be entitled to use them under the conditions defined in these general contractual terms and conditions.


9. Exclusion of Liability

Liability on the part of Switzerland Global Enterprise towards the customer shall always be excluded. Should Switzerland Global Enterprise nevertheless be held liable by a customer in the context of a mandate, the expert undertakes to support Switzerland Global Enterprise and in particular to assist it as a secondary party in legal proceedings and to indemnify Switzerland Global Enterprise, should the latter be defeated.

Should the expert be held liable by a customer in the context of a negotiated mandate, recourse against Switzerland Global Enterprise shall be excluded.


10. Proviso

Switzerland Global Enterprise reserves the right to change the present contractual terms and conditions at any time. It shall publish the amended contractual terms and conditions in the Expert Directory, and send a corresponding notification to the certified experts by e-mail. The experts must declare whether they accept or reject the amended contractual terms and conditions by selecting the respective button in their profile within a period of two weeks. In the event of rejection, this is deemed to be notice of early termination within the meaning of section 7 (1). If no reply is received within two weeks this is similarly deemed to be notice of early termination within the meaning of section 7 (1).


11. Final Provisions

Should any individual clauses of these contractual terms and conditions be or become invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining clauses. The invalid clause shall be replaced by one that is valid and that emulates the content and purpose of the invalid clause as closely as possible.

The legal relationship between the parties is to be governed exclusively by Swiss law.

The sole place of jurisdiction for the legal relationship between the parties is Zurich (Switzerland).

Version 1, September 2013