Criminal law

Crossing in the mountains "I read your article about giving priority to the vehicle coming up mountain roads. Isn't it also customary for the vehicle that can manoeuvre most easily into a space where crossing is possible to pull over to the side, particularly if it meets a post bus?

Applying fines "I've heard about fines under the new criminal law; how are they applied? Maurice, Onex The new Criminal Code, which came into force on 1 January 2007, specifically Article 34, provides for the application of fines for short sentences. Under this provision, the judge...

Fines for using visitor spaces "I live in La Jonction and my car has a sticker for the corresponding zone. I regularly visit my partner, who lives in a block of flats in Chêne-Bourg, and there is a car park with around twenty spaces marked out in white on the ground, as well as...

From 1 July, watch out bikes! "I was astounded to learn that e-bike riders will now have to wear motorbike helmets and that their bikes will have to be registered. Is this true? Cyril, Geneva In view of the growing number of e-bike users in recent years, the Federal Council has adopted a regulation...

Defamation and discharging evidence "I am following up on your publication of 28 August concerning the offence of defamation. I would like to know whether, in the event that I communicate to people that a person has committed criminal offences and that this is true, I can also be sued for defamation." Sylvain Article 173 of the Criminal Code...

On the proper use of the hard shoulder "When I tried to get onto the motorway in a traffic jam, I ended up on the hard shoulder and overtook a few cars. The police then arrested me for serious misconduct. What happened? Patrice, Geneva The hard shoulder is not a...

Brandy: don't get stuck with a plum I have a beautiful plum tree in my garden and I'd like to try making brandy with part of my harvest. A friend told me that making your own alcohol is forbidden in Switzerland. I thought the days of prohibition were long gone! What about...

Recording without consent Such behaviour is hardly acceptable in Switzerland, where Article 179bis of the Swiss Penal Code punishes with up to three years' imprisonment anyone who, without the consent of all participants, eavesdrops with a device or records on a sound carrier an unauthorised conversation....

Speeding Two different procedures may be initiated when road traffic offences are committed, in particular for drink-driving or speeding: a criminal procedure aimed at punishing illegal behaviour with a penalty that may be a fine, a ticket, a pecuniary penalty...