Switzerland became one of the world's first countries to mandate making its government website softwares to become open source. 

ZDNet reported that the country took a major step forward with its Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Measures for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks (EMBAG), which mandated the use of open source software (OSS) on all government websites. 

In a nutshell, the new law required all public bodies to disclose the source of the software developed by and for them, unless third-party rights or security concerns prevented it. 

The Swiss government's website also provided instructions and guidelines regarding the law's implementation.

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Implementation of Swiss Government's OSS Law

However, the road to the unprecedented Swiss legislation faced multiple hurdles that lasted for several years.

The law could trace back its roots in 2011, when the Swiss Federal Supreme Court launched its court application, Open Justitia, under an OSS license. However, the proprietary legal software company Weblaw condemned the move, ushering in a decade of political and legal battles over the matter. 

It was only resolved in 2023, when EMBAG was passed by the Swiss parliament, which not only allowed the release of OSS by the Swiss government or its contractors, but also required the code to be released under an open-source license, with the exception of cases where third-party rights or security-related concerns are present. 

It is understood that the Swiss Federal Statistics Office would lead in the law's implementation. However, the organizational and financial aspects of the OSS releases are yet to be clarified.

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