Referendum
In 2019, the Federal Supreme Court
overturned the 2016 federal vote on the popular initiative "In Favour of
Marriage and Family - Against the Discrimination of Married Couples". The
Court came to the conclusion that the Federal Council had incompletely and with
insufficient transparency informed the voters about important facts concerning
the proposal. Because the initiative was only narrowly rejected, the result of
the vote could have been different without the serious irregularities, which were subsequently identified.
BGE 145 I 207
Measles vaccination
According to a ruling by the Federal Supreme
Court of 2020, if parents with joint custody cannot agree whether to vaccinate
their children against measles, the competent authority must decide for them.
The highest guiding principle for this decision is the children's welfare. The
recommendations of the Federal Office of Public Health must also be taken into
consideration. This should only be differed from, if the measles vaccination is
incompatible, in a particular case, with the children's welfare.
Judgment 5A_789/2019
Attorney General
Due to
various breaches of official duty, the Supervisory Authority for the Office of
the Attorney General sanctioned the Attorney General in March 2020, imposing an
eight per cent salary reduction for one year. In its judgment, the Federal Administrative
Court upheld that the Attorney General had seriously breached his official duty
and duty of loyalty in several respects. However, it rejected some accusations
as unfounded and reduced the sanction by three percent.
Judgment A-2138/2020 of 22 July 2020
Asylum procedure
In a
landmark judgment, the Federal Administrative Court granted the appeal of an
asylum seeker whose procedure and decision process had been accelerated.
Despite the complexity of the case, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)
had not made any referral to an extended procedure, resulting in only a short
time limit of seven working days to file an appeal instead of the usual 30
calendar days.
Judgment E-6713/2019 of 9 June 2020
Pre-trial detention
In 2020, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court
rejected the appeal of Gambia's former Interior Minister requesting his release
from pre-trial detention. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland is
conducting criminal proceedings against him investigating crimes against
humanity. The Lower Appeals Chamber concluded that there is a strong suspicion
that he is guilty of the investigated offences and that pre-trial detention
lasting three and a half years so far is reasonable.
Decree BH.2020.7 (confirmed by the Swiss Federal Court)
Ventilator
In 2019, the Federal Patent Court partially
upheld the complaint of a company with a patent for ventilators where certain
respiratory values from the patient are displayed on a screen in the form of an
animated lung for diagnostic purposes. The defendant is prohibited from
distributing devices, which have features protected by the patent in
Switzerland and Liechtenstein, among other activities, on penalty of a fine.
Judgment O2017_007