Swiss government wants to restrict access to civilian service

Civilian service is aimed at conscientious objectors to military service; it involves assignments in, for example, the social, healthcare and environmental sectors. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY

The executive wants to make it more difficult to avoid military service by opting for a civilian alternative, it said on Friday.

Too many people are being accepted for civilian service, particularly members of the armed forces who have already completed their recruit, specialist and executive training, the government said. It thus wants to clamp down on cases which are not motivated by conscientious objection.

The measures it has proposed were already included in draft legislation narrowly rejected by parliament in 2020. In 2023, parliamentarians then adopted a motion by the Swiss People’s Party calling for measures to increase the number of armed forces personnel through civilian service.

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Military personnel

According to the government’s plan, which will be put out for consultation until June 11, people liable for military service who have already completed all their training days will no longer be eligible for civilian service. The government argues that such cases must not be able to easily evade the compulsory military service to which they are liable until the end of the year preceding their release from military service.

The government is also proposing to align the obligations imposed on civilians with those of military personnel, by obliging them to complete a period of service each year from the calendar year following admission.

Those who have already completed a significant part of their military service will have to complete 150 days of civilian service. The proportionality of the total length of military service and civilian service must be maintained, including for officers and non-commissioned officers.

Applicants who apply during recruit school will be obliged to complete their long-service assignment no later than during the calendar year following the entry into force of the admission decision. Finally, postings requiring study of human, dental or veterinary medicine will be prohibited.

With these measures, the Federal Council hopes to reduce annual admissions to civilian service from 6,600 to 4,000. However, it points out that since civilian service is only one of the factors influencing army personnel numbers, it cannot be expected that departures from the army will fall in the same proportions as admissions to civilian service.

The government also points out that a reduction in the number of civilian service personnel in the long term means fewer people and fewer days of service available for community service.

Translated from French by DeepL/dos

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