Federal law on the protection of the symbol and name of the Red Cross

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Basic data
Title: Federal law on the protection of the symbol and name of the Red Cross


Type: Federal law
Scope: Switzerland
Legal matter: Intellectual property and data protection
Systematic
legal collection (SR)
:
232.22
Original version from: March 25, 1954
Entry into force on: January 1, 1955
Last change by: AS 2008 3437 (PDF file; 512 kB)
Effective date of the
last change:
August 1, 2008
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.
The use of the Red Cross symbol is strictly regulated in Switzerland.

The federal law on the protection of the symbol and name of the Red Cross is a federal law ( SR number 232.22) of the Swiss Federal Assembly that regulates the use of the symbols of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement . It is thus the direct implementation of Article 53 of the First Geneva Convention that obliges the contracting parties to protect the symbol of the Red Cross.

The law initially stipulates in Article 1 that the sign of the red cross on a white background and the words “Red Cross” and “Geneva Cross” may only be used to mark personnel and material that are protected in accordance with the 1949 Geneva Convention . The law regulates the exceptions conclusively and applies in both times of peace and times of war.

In accordance with the Geneva Convention, the symbol may - with the authorization of the Federal Council - be used to designate civilians, civil hospitals and patient transports in times of war. It is also used to mark medical areas that are reserved exclusively for the wounded and sick (in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, it is forbidden to billet armed units in such facilities).

That by the Federal Decree on the Swiss Red Cross as a national Red Cross Society recognized Switzerland, Swiss Red Cross is authorized to use the logo and the name of the Red Cross in times of war, with the restriction that the use can be clearly attributed to the company, however, and cannot be confused with the protection provided by the Geneva Convention. The use of the Red Cross is unrestricted for the international Red Cross organizations, in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross . Use on civilian ambulance vehicles in peacetime requires a permit - and is therefore no longer common.

Company names, trademarks and designs that use the Red Cross are not permitted. Your entry in the commercial register is not possible. This also applies - in Switzerland of course, but also internationally through paragraph 2 of Article 53 - to the Swiss cross.

Anyone who deliberately disregards the provisions of federal law, in particular whoever uses the symbol of the Red Cross or the words "Red Cross" or "Geneva Cross" on business signs, in advertisements, brochures or business papers, prepares appropriate packaging or offers such designated goods, will be punished. The penalty can be a prison sentence or a fine of up to CHF 10,000, in negligent cases up to CHF 1,000. According to Article 333 of the Swiss Criminal Code , a maximum sentence of 3 years imprisonment has been in effect since January 1, 2007. Goods that are illegally marked with the corresponding mark will be confiscated .

The law mostly uses the designation "Red Cross", but defines by Article 12, which was supplemented by the Federal Decree of March 24, 2006, that the law is also applicable to the sign of the Red Crescent, the Red Lion with the Red Sun and the trademark of the third protocol, the red crystal.

In Germany, comparable provisions are contained in Section 125 of the Administrative Offenses Act and in the DRK Act . The Red Cross Act applies in Austria .

Individual evidence

  1. a b SR 0.518.12 Geneva Convention for the Improvement of the Lot of the Wounded and Sick of the Armed Forces in the Field

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