Question

A member would like to convene an extraordinary general meeting and has asked us to provide him with the contact details of all members. Are we allowed to do that?

Answer

If one fifth (or fewer, depending on the articles of association) of the members request an extraordinary general meeting, the Board of Directors must convene such a meeting. In practice, this means that the internal disclosure of member data within the association is permitted in this case, as it is required to exercise membership rights, namely, to convene an extraordinary general meeting (Art. 64 Section 3 of the Swiss Civil Code). In this case, however, the Board of Directors may only disclose the data that are strictly necessary to exercise this right (e.g., names and addresses). Members may only use the data passed on for this exact purpose; the data must then be destroyed, and the member in question must be expressly informed of this. As an alternative to publishing the data, the Board of Directors can offer to send the information to other members on behalf of the member.