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Legal Framework

FactHarbor is a Swiss Verein (non-profit association) under Art. 60 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), based in the Canton of Zürich. The association was founded on April 23, 2026 at its founding assembly, where the statutes were adopted and the Governing Team elected.

FactHarbor is entered in the Commercial Register (Handelsregister) of the Canton of Zürich under UID CHE-448.446.098; the entry is publicly visible on Zefix.

This structure was selected for its simplicity, flexibility, and strong alignment with FactHarbor's mission-driven, automation-first philosophy.

2. Core Non-Profit Principles

Regardless of its stage, the organization is bound by several "mission-lock" principles:

  • Public-Benefit Purpose: The entity exists exclusively to help people understand complex, contested information on an evidence-based foundation.
  • No Profit Distribution: Any surplus is reinvested into the mission. There is no distribution of profits to founders, members, or donors.
  • Independence: Governance rules prevent any single donor or interest group from overriding the organization's neutrality or algorithms.
  • Asset Stewardship: Domains, code repositories, and trademarks are held by the Verein for the benefit of the public.
  • Dissolution Clause: Upon dissolution, remaining assets must be transferred to another mission-compatible non-profit.

3. Statutes (Bylaws)

The statutes (Vereinsstatuten) were adopted at the founding assembly on April 23, 2026 and govern the association:

4. Intellectual Property & Privacy

Detailed legal policies for day-to-day operations are maintained in dedicated documents:

5. Formation & Recognition Status

Milestone Status Notes
Statutes adopted ✅ Complete Founding assembly, April 23, 2026
Governing Team appointed ✅ Complete President and Treasurer (statutory minimum of two members)
Founding assembly held ✅ Complete April 23, 2026
Commercial Register (Handelsregister) ✅ Complete UID CHE-448.446.098; visible on Zefix since May 7, 2026
Nonprofit verification (Goodstack) ✅ Complete Verified May 2026; basis for nonprofit software programs (Claude for Nonprofits and OpenAI for Nonprofits, active since May 10, 2026)
Tax exemption (Steuerbefreiung) 🟡 Applied for Application submitted May 6, 2026 to the Canton of Zürich tax office; decision pending in the May 2026 record; current status requires confirmation

Public launch and wider access

The restricted Alpha does not satisfy all wider-launch prerequisites. Swiss legal-advisor review of policies and bylaws remains a required gate; the Terms of Service remains a draft pending its identified decisions, review and adoption. Governing Team launch approval, working contact infrastructure and incident/breach procedures remain required.

Follow the effective Privacy Policy, section 20 for the processing register, DPIA, infrastructure verification, retention automation, private-person and source-rights expansion gates. Do not treat documentation publication as approval to expand access or as evidence those tasks are complete.

Analysis Metadata

  • Last Updated: June 11, 2026
  • Sources: FactHarbor founding minutes (April 23, 2026), Commercial Register / Zefix entry (UID CHE-448.446.098), Swiss Civil Code (Art. 60-79)
  • Author: AI Assistant (Technical Writer)