Affairs Between Swiss Federal Judges Deemed Inappropriate

The extraordinary meeting was prompted by the relationship between federal judge Beatrice van de Graaf and federal judge Yves Donzallaz, which was made public at the end of April by the German-language weekly Weltwoche.

An independent panel of experts is to decide on this specific case. An external expert is to clarify the“facts of the case” between Federal Judge van de Graaf and Federal Judge Donzallaz – and then report back to the Administrative Commission of the Federal Court.

The Federal Court announced in writing on Friday that the results are expected at the end of June. Only then will a decision be made on how to proceed.

However, the decision“that amorous relationships between members of the court are fundamentally contrary to the applicable 'customs of judges at the Federal Supreme Court'” was made by the full court, which convened on Wednesday, irrespective of the specific case.

The applicable customs require court members to refrain from any behaviour that could“call into question their independence and the reputation of the court”.

In addition, it is stipulated that independence must also be maintained vis-à-vis colleagues, within one's own division and in the respective“ruling body”. Ultimately, according to the Federal Court, judges are elected to the Federal Court by parliament. The general elections will take place this autumn.

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