What is the Criminal Court?

What is the Criminal Court?

The press has mentioned that the attackers in Saint-Jean were tried by the Criminal Court. I'd like to know what exactly that means. Do the courts have the same names and jurisdiction in each canton? Isn't there a federal law that regulates these matters? The press has mentioned that the assailants in Saint-Jean were tried by the Criminal Court. I'd like to know exactly what that means. Do the courts have the same names and jurisdiction in each canton? Isn't there a federal law that regulates these matters?

Nic, Vaud

Generally speaking, article 3 of the Swiss Constitution states that "the cantons are sovereign insofar as their sovereignty is not limited by the Federal Constitution and exercise all rights that are not delegated to the Confederation". This means that the cantons have jurisdiction in all areas in which the fundamental text of our country does not establish federal jurisdiction.

Article 123 of the Constitution states that the Confederation is responsible for criminal law and procedure. However, judicial organisation remains the prerogative of the cantons. The nomenclature of the courts and their jurisdiction comes under judicial organisation and not criminal procedure, so the cantons remain free to set their own rules in this area.

The Geneva Cantonal Law on the Organisation of the Judiciary establishes three criminal courts: the Police Court, the Criminal Court and the Criminal Court. The Police Court is composed of a single judge, the Criminal Court of three professional judges and the Criminal Court of three professional judges and four assessors. The Police Court is responsible for cases in which the Public Prosecutor in charge of the case does not intend to request a sentence of more than two years, the Criminal Court for cases in which the threatened sentence is up to 10 years and the Criminal Court when the Public Prosecutor intends to request a sentence of more than 10 years.

In the canton of Vaud, the nomenclature remains the same but the jurisdictions differ. The Police Court has jurisdiction only for sentences of up to one year, the Criminal Court for sentences of up to 6 years and the Criminal Court for sentences of more than 6 years. It is also interesting to note that the Police Court is made up of a single judge, the Criminal Court of three judges and the Criminal Court of four judges.

As you will have understood, a distinction must be made between the procedure and the organisation of the courts, the former being the exclusive responsibility of the Confederation and the latter of the cantons, the latter, as always, retaining their specific regional characteristics.