Criminal record and military antics

Criminal record and military antics

"Are the penalties incurred during military service recorded in the "civilian" criminal record?

Benoit, Carouge

First of all, there is no distinction between a "civilian" criminal record and a "military" criminal record, unlike criminal law, which has an ordinary section and a military section.

The criminal record concerns only persons convicted in Switzerland and Swiss nationals convicted abroad, and does not contain all the offences and penalties to which a person may be sentenced. Only the most serious offences are recorded in the criminal record, i.e. judgements for felonies, for misdemeanours where a penalty or measure has been imposed, and judgements for misdemeanours where a fine of more than CHF 5,000 or community service of more than 180 hours has been imposed. To this list must be added proceedings underway in connection with a felony or misdemeanour. For the record, a felony is an offence punishable by a custodial sentence of more than three years and a misdemeanour is an offence punishable by a custodial sentence of up to three years or a fine. A contravention is the most common offence, since it is punishable only by a fine.

The criminal prosecution authorities are authorised to enter data in the criminal record, as are the military justice authorities, but not all penalties are entered. To determine whether a sanction incurred during military service can be entered in the criminal record, it is first necessary to ensure that the "accused" falls into the category of persons subject to military criminal law; this generally means persons liable for military service or who perform military duties.

Under article 226 of the Military Penal Code, disciplinary sanctions and community service for refusal of service and desertion are never recorded in the record. For other convictions incurred in military proceedings, the provisions of ordinary criminal law apply, which means that they are not necessarily entered in the record.

It should be noted that failure to record a conviction does not always mean that it is unimportant. In fact, the range of disciplinary sanctions for military personnel is broad and can go from arrests of 1 to 10 days to reprimands and fines of up to CHF 1,000.