Listening: Swiss judges want to break ties with politics
Swiss judges want to dissolve the traditional link between parties and court members, including mandatory contributions to a political party. A majority would like to see a reform of the current system.
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Schweizer Richter wollen Entflechtung von Justiz und Politik
Original
The results of a survey of professional judges in Switzerland on the relationship between the judiciary and politics show the need to clarify these links, the Swiss Judges’ Association (SVR) said on Wednesday.
The respondents were critical of the current system of appointment and re-election. Access to a judgeship is often at the suggestion of a political party. Court members also have to be re-elected by a political body at regular intervals.
According to the SVR, a large majority is against the retention of mandatory contributions. Such a contribution is paid annually by the court member to his or her political party. This Swiss peculiarity hardly seems compatible with the principle of the independence of the judiciary, wrote the SVR.
Around 1,250 judges in Switzerland were contacted as part of the survey. Responses from 935 people were used for the analysis. The survey took place last summer.
Translated from German with DeepL/gw
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