Anyone still have or know where that link is showing a number of swiss code violations? It was written in German btw and posted here but I cant find it.

Never mind, I found it!

http://www.kontrollbuero.ch/fotogalerie/fotogalerie.htm

WOW. That is one long, long collection of items!!

Makes me wish I could read German!

Some of the texts aren't that informative... a number of pictures are just labelled "Non-compliant substation. Has to be renovated."

Others are fairly obvious, e.g. loose connections or poorly maintained ancient wiring. Sockets too close to showers and tubs are another recurring item.

BTW, the site is worth regular visits! They keep adding new pictures!

Some of those pictures are scary! They don't improve my opinion of European electrics

Well, I'm sure the general standard is roughly the same in all civilised countries and you could find similar scary examples anywhere in the UK. In Switzerland they're uncovered more frequently than elsewhere because homeowners are required to have their wiring tested every ten years.

I can throw in the voice of experience here in New Jersey...

"You are not alone, we have some of the best qualified butchers in the world"

Never heard of this. How does it work?

Do you mean how it's done technically or how well it works?

The testing is done by various licensed testing companies such as this one (Waser) and there's a national agency (Starkstrominspektorat) that can do spot checks or step in if someone complains.
The testers can't enforce anything, unlike the Starkstrominspektorat and therefore some violations are just noted every ten years. The Swiss aren't all saints either
The STarkstrominspektorat can turn off your power in case of imminent danger and I think they can fine too.

http://www.esti.admin.ch/en/

How its done technically... and why to lol. Seems extreme.

Yup, it's a bit extreme!

In theorey Austrian landlords have been required to have the wiring tested every time a flat is rented out since 2008 but that law seems to have had very little effect.

There's also a heated debate on whether the law implies that the wiring has to meet current(!) standards or the standards of when it was done.
I decidedly read the latter but every electrician I've talked to so far insists on the former and will actually tell you to the face "Just ignore the law, I haven't seen a potential tenant who asked for the report yet!". Seriously!

My reasoning: the rental property law (short MRG) refers to the electro-technical law (short ETG), which in turn states that any wiring must comply with the regulations that were in force at the time of its installation. Furthermore, the MRG says that regardless of these demands, a 30 mA RCD must be fitted if not already present. Since any new socket wiring needs to be RCD protected anyway why include that paragraph if the wiring has to be brought to current standards anyway? IANAL but the general interpretation stinks I'd say.

Very interesting photo's on the Swiss electrical violation site.
I can read German and it is interesting to see these hazards picked up by the electrical inspectors.
Interesting to see so many failed or overheated Neutral connections on switchboards.