Prosecutors against expensive enforcement initiative
The board of the Swiss Conference of Prosecutors rejects the "enforcement initiative". It welcomes and supports the possibility of expelling criminal foreigners from the country. But the initiative contradicts fundamental principles of the rule of law, according to a statement by the SSK/CPS. The initiative would lead to shocking results and would mean additional costs in the millions.
The Swiss Conference of Prosecutors (SSK/CPS) is in favor of a consistent application of the current regulation of expulsion from the country and the tightening that will result from the deportation initiative. However, the SSK/CPS rejects that foreigners who are integrated and rooted in Switzerland are treated the same as, for example, criminal tourists who enter the country solely with criminal intentions, as the SSK/CPS writes in its media release today.
The proponents of the so-called enforcement initiative would emphasize as an advantage that an expulsion could be ordered not only by courts, but also in the much less time-consuming penalty order procedure of the public prosecutor's office. However, this is likely to prove a boomerang, according to the SSK/CPS.
On the one hand it must be assumed that in these cases no more confessions will be made, since the expulsion represents a serious encroachment on individual rights. As a result, the proceedings would no longer be settled by penalty order and an ordinary court would have to judge the case. .
On the other hand confessions can be made, but because of the automatic expulsion, the penalty order is contested. Since the convicted persons have nothing left to lose, experience shows that they will exhaust the entire appeal process. According to the SSK/CPS, appeals to the Federal Court or the European Court of Human Rights are therefore to be expected.
Amounts in the tens of millions
The Conference of Public Prosecutors assumes that in the vast majority of cases where there is a threat of expulsion, a defense must be used. Due to the seriousness of the encroachment on individual rights, this defense is usually paid for by the state. If one assumes several thousand proceedings per year in which a defense must be appointed, the state would incur additional costs in the tens of millions. Furthermore, additional court and interpreting costs are to be expected.
The provisions of the enforcement initiative would enter into force on February 28, 2016, if adopted, the SSK/CPS further states. In the event that the initiative is adopted, a recommendation has been drawn up in support of the public prosecutors to enable uniform implementation.
