Child ban in Swiss café judged not discriminatory

Ban on children in Aarau café: government sees no discrimination Keystone-SDA

Private restaurateurs are allowed to refuse children entry to their establishments. Aargau cantonal government says the economic freedom of publicans carries more weight in this case than the ban on discrimination.

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The political debate was triggered by the decision of a café owner in the cantonal capital of Aarau in northern Switzerland to refuse entry to guests under the age of 14.

“In order to maintain a quiet and cosy atmosphere, we ask that you do not bring babies or small children,” read a sign on the entrance door. This caused a stir in various media in November.

In its response to an interpellation from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, published on Friday, the cantonal government stated that the cantonal catering law does not contain any regulations on the selection of guests. From a legal perspective, two fundamental rights clash, according to the cantonal government: the ban on discrimination and economic freedom. Both principles are enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

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Fundamental rights would primarily bind the state towards its citizens but would have no direct effect between private individuals. As running a restaurant is not a state task, a restaurateur is free to decide whom they serve within the scope of their economic freedom.

Neither degrading nor stigmatising

According to the cantonal government, a state “hospitality obligation” would be a disproportionate encroachment on entrepreneurial freedom.

The cantonal government did not believe that the constitutional ban on discrimination had been violated. Although age is a protected characteristic, the ban on age discrimination is applied less strictly than, for example, discrimination on the basis of race or gender, it said.

A ban on admission for children under the age of 14 is therefore neither degrading nor stigmatising and does not violate human dignity, it said. The cantonal government explained analogously that, according to this logic, access restrictions for senior citizens would also be permissible. There is no legal provision that prohibits such a selection from the outset.

The cantonal government sees no reason to amend the Hospitality Industry Act. Nor does it see the social integration of families or the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as being jeopardised by selective bans. There are still enough family-friendly businesses in the canton, it said.

The government also assumes that such bans will remain an exception. Most restaurateurs simply cannot afford to do without families as customers from a business point of view, it said.

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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