Criminal law

Improper use of municipal services You are right: it is absolutely not normal for an employee, civil servant or magistrate to use his authority and the human resources of the public body he serves to obtain services that benefit him personally! Such behaviour, at a purely contractual level, constitutes a breach of the duty to respect the...

A foreign licence that's making waves I have a boating licence issued by the French authorities a few years ago, when I lived and worked in neighbouring France. I now live in Switzerland and would like to exchange this French licence for a Swiss sailing licence, but I've been told...

A butterfly classified as very dangerous I have a butterfly knife at home, but I was recently told that it is a prohibited weapon in Switzerland. It seemed to me that our weapons legislation was rather tolerant and that it was easy to acquire firearms. Is it true that a simple knife is banned? Vincent,...

Is it possible to have a child sitting in the front seat? "I usually carry my son in the front passenger seat of my car, with a booster seat; some of the mums at school claim that this is forbidden, on the grounds that he's not yet 12. One of them claims to have this information from the police. What does...

Electric scooter or skateboard? My 15-year-old son insists that I buy him an electric scooter, but I think it's dangerous unless he can ride on pavements, but I don't know if that's allowed. So I'd rather buy him an electric skateboard like the ones you see on...

Criminal courts In Switzerland, the organisation of the courts and their jurisdiction is governed by 27 different laws! This is because each canton has the sovereign right to set up its own judicial system, which may differ from one canton to another. And then there's the organisation...

Crossing a white line by bike " Last week, I crossed a white line in a locality by turning left with my bike to leave the main road. I've been doing this for years and didn't realise that the line was continuous and that I was supposed to be going...

Translator and interrogation Swiss criminal procedure is governed by a number of fundamental principles that benefit defendants in particular. In particular, in the context of a police interrogation as described in your question, the right to request the assistance of a translator or interpreter is guaranteed by article 158 of the Code of Criminal Procedure...

Not every commission is worth taking My ex-husband is very keen to pay our children's pensions, even though I know he has the means to do so. He is active in the construction industry and I have proof that he receives commission from the companies to which he entrusts work...