Article 1 of the Swiss Civil Code of 1907 tells a court what to do when the Code contains no provision…

Article 1(2) of the Swiss Civil Code says that, in the absence of a provision, the court decides "in accordance with customary law and, in the absence of customary law, in accordance with the rule that it would make as legislator". Article 1(3) adds that in doing so the court follows established doctrine and case law. The code is the starting point of a civil-law system, but the judge may not refuse to decide merely because the code is silent, so dismissing the claim for want of an express provision is wrong.