Signed means bound

Swiss contract law takes signatures seriously. The consumer-style right to change your mind within a few days exists only in narrow, specifically regulated situations; it is not a general feature of the law, and it plays practically no role between businesses. If your company signed a supply agreement yesterday and the deal looks worse this morning, that regret is not a legal ground for anything.

This is worth internalising before signing, not after. The moment to test pricing, exit rights and termination mechanics is during negotiation — Swiss law will hold you to what you signed precisely because it assumes you meant it.

Defects of consent: the narrow legal exits

The law does unwind contracts where the consent behind the signature was defective. Three grounds matter in practice. Fundamental error: you were mistaken about facts that, objectively and for both sides, were a necessary basis of the deal — not merely about whether it was a good deal. Fraud: the other side deceived you intentionally, by false statements or by concealing what it had a duty to disclose. Duress: you signed under an unlawful threat.

Each of these is real but demanding. A bad forecast, an overlooked clause or a market that moved is not a fundamental error; hard selling is not fraud; commercial pressure is not duress. The party invoking a defect of consent must also act within the statutory window after discovering it and be able to prove the facts — which is why these grounds succeed far less often than disappointed signatories hope.

The negotiated exit is usually the real one

In most cases the realistic route out of a freshly signed contract is commercial, not doctrinal. Check the document you actually signed: termination rights, conditions precedent that have not yet been satisfied, milestones the other side must still hit. Then consider what the counterparty needs — an orderly exit against a fee, a reduced scope, a substitute customer — and negotiate before performance and sunk costs harden both positions.

Timing matters. A counterparty that has not yet mobilised resources will often release you cheaply; one that has staffed the project will not. And whatever you do, avoid simply not performing: walking away from a valid contract exposes you to damages and hands the other side the narrative.

What to do

  • Re-read the signed text for conditions, termination rights and notice mechanics before assuming you are stuck.
  • If you suspect error, fraud or duress, document the facts immediately and take advice quickly — these remedies are time-sensitive.
  • Otherwise, approach the counterparty early with a concrete exit proposal rather than silence or non-performance.

Whether any of these routes is open in your case depends entirely on the contract and the circumstances of signing — that is a conversation worth having with a lawyer before you make the next move.