Foreign judges

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The term foreign judges is a term used in older Swiss constitutional history . It goes back to the legendary founding charter of the Old Confederation of 1291 , where the original cantons swore not to recognize any judge "who is not our compatriot".

history

The historical context of this “judge's article” in the Federal Letter is the Habsburg rule at the time on Swiss territory, which the original cantons and later also the other cantons that followed them wanted to defend themselves against . B. also included the Habsburg jurisdiction. The wording is more general and relates to all potential foreign claims to power over federal territory:

"We do not want to accept or recognize any judge in our valleys who has acquired this office at any price or for money or who is not our inhabitant or compatriot."

Later, the confederates made this pledge in the form of z. B. the Swiss Habsburg Wars catches on.

The “rejection of foreign judges” continues to have an effect in Switzerland into modern times. The ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), for example, was only possible in 1974 after lengthy political disputes; it caused certain interventions by the Human Rights Court (ECHR) in the Swiss judicial sovereignty . The European Union has not yet acceded to the ECHR because its autonomy would be restricted by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The Swiss People's Party (SVP) invokes this old principle and has, among other things, a. thus fought - so far successfully - against Switzerland's accession to the European Union and also to the European Economic Area . She initiated the so-called “self-determination initiative on this topic .

literature

  • Fritz Schaffer: Outline of Swiss History. Huber, Frauenfeld 1974.
  • Human rights and fundamental freedoms , European convention from 1950 with appendices until 1992.
  • Christoph Blocher : Switzerland and Europe, 5 years after the EEA no. AUNS , Bern 1997.

Individual evidence

  1. Euractiv: ECJ slows EU accession to the human rights convention