Threat

In the Swiss law of obligations, a threat (duress) concerns pressure that deprives a party of free decision-making when concluding a contract. If the threat is unlawful or disproportionate and causally induces consent, the affected party may avoid the contract within the applicable challenge period. The threat may concern the party or a close person and may come from the other contracting party or, in some cases, a third person. Ordinary commercial pressure or hard bargaining is not enough.