Legal Notice and Data Protection Statement

1. Liability

Although the operator of this website takes every care to ensure that the information published is correct, no guarantee can be given with regard to the correctness, accuracy, up-to-dateness, reliability and completeness of this information. The operator of this website expressly reserves the right to change, delete or temporarily not publish content in whole or in part at any time without prior notice. Liability claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information provided, including any kind of information which is incomplete or incorrect, will therefore be rejected.

2. References and links

References and links to third-party websites are outside the responsibility of the operator of this website. Access to and use of such websites is at the user's own risk. The operator of this website expressly declares that it has no influence whatsoever on the design, content and offers of the linked websites. Information and services of linked websites are entirely the responsibility of the respective third party. Any responsibility for such websites is declined.

3. Copyright 

The information contained on this website is made available to the public. Downloading or copying content, images, photos or other files does not transfer any rights whatsoever with regard to the content. The copyright and all other rights to the content, images, photos or other files on this website belong exclusively to the operator of this website or to the specifically named rights holders. The written consent of the copyright holders must be obtained in advance for the reproduction of any elements.

4. Automatic translation

This service may contain translations provided by automatic online translation services. We do not accept any responsibility for these translations. Authoritative are the texts of the researchers in the original languages.

1. Introduction

We respect your privacy. This means that any information which you provide will be handled carefully and responsibly at all times, in compliance with the relevant data protection regulations and in accordance with this Data Protection Statement.

In general, the offerings on our website (www.humanresearch-switzerland.ch) are subject to the terms and conditions applicable for the use of Swiss Confederation websites, which are available here: https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/terms-and-conditions.html. In particular, these offerings are governed by Swiss data protection legislation, as well as any international data protection regulations which may be applicable, e.g. those of the European Union (General Data Protection Regulation).

2. Body responsible

The body responsible for the processing data is: 
FOPH, Biomedicine Division, Human Research Section
Schwarzenburgstrasse 157
CH-3003 Bern

If you have any queries concerning the protection of your personal data, you can contact the above body in writing or by e-mail.

Our website is hosted by: 
Ops One AG
Weststrasse 77
8003 Zürich
www.opsone.ch 

3. Personal data 

“Personal data” means any information concerning an identified or identifiable natural person. This includes all the basic data provided to us, such as, in particular, your name, address, e-mail, telephone number and IP address. It does not cover statistical data or anonymised data which cannot be directly associated with you as an individual.

“Data subject” means a natural person whose personal data is processed; “processing” means any operation involving personal data (for example, combining data with an identifier such as a name, an identification number or location data). 

4. Legal basis and purposes of data collection/processing

We collect, process and store personal data in order to fulfil our legal responsibilities and to comply with any contractual obligations. In addition to the above-mentioned legal basis for data processing, we process data in pursuit of overriding interests – in particular, economic and legal interests. Our overriding interest lies, in particular, in the optimisation of our online offerings and of our website. Data is collected and processed for the purpose of enabling use of our website (establishment of a connection), ensuring sustained system security and stability, and permitting optimisation of our online offerings, as well as for internal statistical purposes. The IP address and country are analysed only in the event of attacks on the network infrastructure of the website, or for statistical purposes.

5. Search alert for new studies 

You have the option of creating a search alert for specific clinical studies. For this, we require your e-mail address and your desired search criteria. This information is stored on our servers in Switzerland and is used solely for the purpose of sending to the specified e-mail address studies newly appearing in the study search which match your search criteria. After you register for a search alert, your e-mail address and search criteria will be stored together with your consent for the purposes of the search alert until you unsubscribe from the search alert. You can unsubscribe from a search alert at any time; however, this does not affect data processing which has already taken place. Your data will not be passed on or used for other purposes.

6. Contact

For queries of any kind, we offer you the option of contacting us via humres@clutterbag.admin.ch . This requires you to provide, in particular, a valid e-mail address and contact data (e.g. surname, first name), so that we know who has submitted the query. Further details may be provided voluntarily. Data processing which enables you to make contact with us is undertaken on the basis of your voluntary consent.

7. Transmission

We will only pass on your personal data if we are legally obliged to do so, if you have given your explicit consent, or if this is necessary to uphold our rights – in particular, to uphold claims arising from any contractual relationship. In addition, we will only pass on your data to third parties insofar as this is required for performance of a contract. For this purpose, we will transmit the requisite data to other federal bodies, to printers responsible for distribution, or to other service providers. These service providers will use your data exclusively for performance of the assignment and not for other purposes. It is ensured that these service providers will treat your data confidentially and in accordance with the applicable legal requirements, and that your data will only be used for the purpose of the service in question.

8. Web analysis

If you access Federal Administration websites, the following data will be stored in log files: the IP address, date, time, browser request and information on the device used, including the operating system and browser, the name of the page/file accessed and the data volume transmitted. This data is evaluated by web analysis tools (see below). The Federal Administration does this in order to continuously improve its methods of communication. 

This website uses the Matomo software solution for web analysis not related to specific persons. Matomo is operated by the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT). Tracking is carried out using JavaScript and Pixel, but only within our website, and it is completely under the Federal Administration’s control, with all data remaining in Switzerland. The data obtained is used exclusively for web analysis; it is not shared or combined with other data records.

9. Retention period

We will retain your personal data for as long as is necessary or appropriate to comply with the relevant legal requirements, or for as long as it is needed to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. As far as possible, we will always anonymise or delete your personal data as soon as it is no longer required, or at the latest at the end of the legally specified maximum retention period.

You can yourself request erasure of your personal data at any time by sending an appropriate application to the body specified in Section 2. We will comply with your request immediately, provided that we are not required to retain the data further on other grounds (e.g. a legal data retention obligation).

10. Rights of the data subject

a) Information: On written request, we will inform you at any time as to what personal data is stored when you visit our website.

b) Rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, right to object: You may have personal data which is stored when you visit our website rectified, blocked or erased by us. In addition, you may object to the disclosure of certain personal data. Exempt from erasure is data which we require to complete outstanding tasks or to uphold existing rights and claims, as well as data which we are legally obliged to retain.

c) Data disclosure and transfer: On written request, you have the right to receive personal data which is stored when you visit our website in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (e.g. PDF file). You also have the right to request the return of data provided to us when visiting our website.

d) Right to withdraw consent: Insofar as, in using our website or availing yourself of our services, you have given consent to the collection, storage, use, etc., of personal data, you may withdraw this consent at any time. The withdrawal of consent can be sent, by e-mail or in writing, to the body specified in Section 2. The effects of the withdrawal of consent are restricted to the storage and use of personal data which may not already, on legal grounds, be stored and used even without your consent. In addition, the withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of previous processing based on your consent.

e) Supervisory authority: The supervisory authority responsible for data protection matters is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner  (https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/de/home.html).

f) Exercising these rights: To exercise your rights, please contact the body specified in Section 2, providing proof of your identity (copy of ID, passport or other official document). Please note that your rights may be restricted insofar as this is legally provided for or necessary on account of overriding public or private interests. For example, the right to data transfer is not applicable in particular for the processing of personal data which is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

11. Data concerning children

 Insofar as is ascertainable, we only collect, process and use personal data concerning children with the consent of their authorised representative. Persons under 16 years of age must obtain permission from their authorised representative before transmitting personal data to us. Accordingly, persons under 16 years of age require their parents’ consent to use our website.

12. Liability for links

We have no influence whatsoever on the current or future design or content of any sites linked or referred to. This applies to all links and references included on our own website. Liability for illegal, inaccurate or incomplete content – and in particular for damage arising from the use or non-use of such information – rests solely with the operator of the site to which reference is made, and not with the operator of the site merely making reference (via links) to the publication in question. To the extent legally permissible, any liability is excluded.

13. Use of cookies 

On our website, we use so-called cookies and similar technologies to allow your browser or device to be identified. A cookie is a small text file which is sent to your computer when you visit our website. A cookie can only contain information which we send to your computer – it cannot be used to read out private data. If you accept cookies from our pages, we do not have any access to your personal information, but with the aid of these cookies we can identify your computer. No personal data is stored in the cookies used, so that, using the cookies technology, we cannot draw any conclusions as to your identity. 

We use session-specific, temporary cookies. These cookies are required technically for the operation of the website, but they do not remain on your computer. When you leave our website, the temporary cookies are discarded. With the aid of the information gathered, we can analyse website usage patterns and structures, and optimise the site by improving content, personalisation and usability.

We also use permanent cookies: these remain on your computer to permit user-specific personalisation and registration services on subsequent visits. These cookies may record, for example, which brochure you have chosen to order, while you continue to browse in the online shop. In addition, for websites where a log-in is required, you will only have to enter your password once. Permanent cookies can be manually deleted by the user. 

Cookies are also used by some of our Internet service providers (so-called third-party cookies). These cookies help us to tailor our site to the specific requirements of our users. Thanks to these cookies, we receive information about what information you have viewed or searched for on our website, or which pages you have previously visited. These cookies are stored on your hard disk. The cookies used by our Internet service providers also do not contain any personal data. Pseudonymisation is used so that no conclusions can be drawn as to your identity.

Most browsers (e.g. Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, etc.) accept cookies by default. In the privacy/security settings, you can allow or block temporary and/or permanent cookies. The data stored in our cookies is not linked to your personal data (name, address, etc.) without your explicit consent.

14. Map services

 On our website, we use services provided by the external map provider OpenStreetMap. We use OSM standard (Mapnik) map tiles. The applicable data protection provisions of the OpenStreetMap Foundation are set out in the OSMF Privacy Policy 

15. Data security

On our website, for security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential information, we use SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognise an encrypted connection by the fact that the browser’s address line changes from “http://” to “https://” and the padlock icon is displayed. Once SSL or TLS encryption is activated, data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

16. Amendments

We reserve the right to amend this Data Protection Statement at any time. The latest version published on our website is applicable. If you are directly affected by an amendment to the Data Protection Statement (for example, if you use a newsletter service), you will be informed about such an amendment in an appropriate manner. The Data Protection Statement does not establish any contractual or other formal legal relationship with or on behalf of any party.