Criminal law

Driving offences: what are they? I've heard that the law now provides for the offence of hit-and-run driving. What is it?" Martin, Carouge The VIA SICURA road safety programme is introducing changes to the law on road traffic (LCR), the first of which came into force on 1 January this year....

Private defence Criminal proceedings are clearly regulated throughout Switzerland by the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP). The issue you are raising is based, on the one hand, on the fundamental principle that all participants in such proceedings have the right to be assisted by legal counsel and, on the other hand, on the right...

Covid and domicile The domicile owned by the inhabitant belongs to him, so that he alone decides who may or may not enter it. Tenants are not the owners of their homes but, under the terms of a tenancy agreement, the landlord transfers the right of use to them. In both cases, the occupant...

Identity checks: police rights "I was recently stopped in the street for no apparent reason by police officers who asked me for my identity papers. Did they have the right to do so if I wasn't doing anything wrong? James, Geneva Stop-and-search for the purposes of identity checks is subject to requirements in the public interest and...

Driving with a foreign licence? I've been living in Switzerland for over a year now, and I'm wondering whether I'm allowed to drive a vehicle with my French driving licence. And what about my wife, who has a Kosovan driving licence? A. Geneva According to Article 5 of the Ordinance governing the admission...

Suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a measure that suspends the execution of a sentence for a set period of time, often subject to certain conditions such as rules of conduct or support measures designed to reduce the risk of re-offending. The idea is as follows: a sentence is handed down but its execution...

Criminal record and military misdemeanours " Are the penalties incurred during military service recorded in the "civil" criminal record? " Benoit, Carouge First of all, there is no distinction between a "civil" criminal record and a "military" criminal record, unlike criminal law, which is made up of a "civil" section and a "military" section....

Good conduct The criminal record is a federal register governed by articles 365 et seq. of the Criminal Code. These legal provisions specify which offences must be recorded and for how long. In particular, judgments for felonies or misdemeanours are recorded in the criminal record, provided, of course, that a sentence or...

Lost luggage! What am I entitled to? "I've read your article about travellers' rights in the event of flight cancellation. During a trip from Geneva to France, my baggage was lost. I'd like to know what rights travellers have in such circumstances. Fabien, Plan-les-Ouates The...