Cantonal referendum on "Mention of nationalities in reports to the police and judicial authorities"
| Cantonal referendum | |
|---|---|
|
"Mention of nationalities in reports from the police and judicial authorities" |
|
| Result: | Accepted |
| General | |
| Canton: | Solothurn |
| Date: | March 11, 2012 |
| Participation: | 39.2% |
| Ballot | |
| Eligible to vote: | 173,673 |
| Received: | 70,465 |
| Empty: | 1388 |
| Invalid: | 26th |
| Valid: | 66,724 |
| Recommendation of the Cantonal Council | |
| Yes: | 53 |
| No: | 41 |
| result | |
| Yes: | 46,872 (70.25%) |
| No: | 19,852 (29.75%) |
| Yes votes by district | |
|
|
The cantonal referendum on "Mention of nationalities in reports by the police and judicial authorities" was a referendum in the Swiss canton of Solothurn that took place on March 11, 2012. The content of the vote was the mandatory naming of the nationality of perpetrators and suspects in police reports.
Background and content
Even before the vote, the police and judicial authorities were able to state the nationality of an offender or suspect in reports. The aim of the referendum was the legal anchoring of a mention in all reports in order to give the people transparency "which countries the people come from, which [...] impair safety" .
The opponents of the submission argued with paternalism of the authorities that they could no longer decide at their own discretion about the indication of nationality, as well as the discrimination against foreigners and the violation of personal rights . The last point was rejected by the proponents on the grounds that naming the nationality does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about a specific individual and therefore does not violate personal rights. The prohibition of discrimination set out in Article 8, Paragraph 2 of the Federal Constitution is not broken either, since only around half of the crimes are committed by foreigners and thus Swiss citizens would be equally affected by the planned change in the law.
Another point of the opponents was the disproportionality , since if the submission is accepted, the nationality would have to be stated from now on, even in the case of minor offenses such as drunkenness or disturbances of the peace.
The initiative does not affect the decision whether or not to publish a police report about a crime. As a result, the legal norm “State action must be in the public interest and must be proportionate” set out in paragraph 5 of the Federal Constitution can continue to be complied with. According to the arguments of the opponents, this circumstance could lead to the police being able to consciously refrain from reporting because of the mandatory nationality.
Proponents and opponents do not agree on whether the planned change in the law is constitutional or not. A legal opinion drawn up by Thomas Fleiner , em. Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at the University of Zurich, sees the initiative as not feasible.
Voting result
All districts of the canton accepted the proposal. The bill received the highest proportion of yes votes from the Thal district with 76.42 percent, and the lowest proportion of yes votes from the Solothurn district with 54.41 percent. The turnout was between 34.5 percent in the Thierstein district and 43.5 percent in the Dorneck district . Of the four cantonal referendums in the canton of Solothurn on that day, this achieved the lowest percentage of yes votes.
| district | Voting participation | Yes (percent) | No (percent) | adoption |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucheggberg | 42.3% | 69.4% | 30.6% | Yes |
| Dorneck | 36.2% | 63.8% | 36.2% | Yes |
| Gäu | 36.5% | 75.4% | 24.6% | Yes |
| Gösgen | 38.2% | 72.6% | 27.4% | Yes |
| Livers | 37.6% | 71.9% | 28.1% | Yes |
| Olten | 40.0% | 71.1% | 28.9% | Yes |
| Solothurn | 43.4% | 54.4% | 45.6% | Yes |
| Thal | 37.9% | 76.4% | 23.6% | Yes |
| Thierstein | 34.5% | 70.3% | 29.7% | Yes |
| Water authority | 39.5% | 72.6% | 27.4% | Yes |
| Total (10) | 39.2% | 70.2% | 29.8% | Yes |
Voting template
Cantonal Council resolution of May 10, 2011, No. VI 028/2011
Implementation of the popular initiative for “naming nationalities in reports to the police and judicial authorities”:
1. Amendment of the law on the cantonal police;
2. Amendment of the Introductory Act to the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure and the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure for Young People
The Cantonal Council of Solothurn, based on Article 29 paragraph 1 letter b, Article 32 paragraph 2 and Article 71 paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Canton of Solothurn (KV) of June 8, 1986 1 ) , after taking note of the message and draft of the government council of March 15, 2011 (RRB No. 2011/566), decides:
I.
The Cantonal Police Act (KapoG) of 23 September 1990 2 ) is amended as follows:
Section 29. The following is inserted as paragraph 1 bis :
1 bis The canton police must state the nationality or the region of origin of the persons concerned in reports on security police and administrative police activities as well as activities in the context of enforcement assistance, subject to superordinate federal and cantonal law.
Section 29 Paragraph 2 reads as follows:
2 Information on criminal proceedings is based on Sections 9 bis and 9 ter of the Introductory Act to the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure and the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure for Young Persons (EG StPO) of March 10, 2010 3 ).
II.
The Introductory Act to the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure and the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure for Young People (EG StPO) of March 10, 2010 4 ) is amended as follows:
As § 9 to be inserted:
§ 9 up . Orientation of the public about criminal proceedings under federal law Public
orientation about criminal proceedings under federal law is based on Article 74 of the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure (Criminal Procedure Code, StPO) of October 5, 2007 5 ).
As § 9 ter is inserted:
§ 9 ter . Informing the public about proceedings under cantonal criminal law
The criminal authorities must state the nationality or region of origin of the perpetrators and suspects in reports on proceedings under the criminal law of the canton and the communes, subject to the overriding federal and cantonal law.
III.
Recommendation of the Cantonal Council:
The Cantonal Council recommends that the people accept the implementation of the popular initiative.
IV.
The government council determines the entry into force.
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- Voting documents (PDF; 806 kB)
- Voting results (overview)
- Voting results (detail) (PDF; 48 kB)