‘King of Switzerland’ achieves partial victory in tank dispute

"King of Switzerland" achieves partial victory in Bern court Keystone-SDA

Jonas Lauwiner, the self-proclaimed "King of Switzerland", has won a partial victory in the dispute over his armoured car before the Bern Administrative Court. The Road Traffic Office must reassess the withdrawal of his vehicle licence and number plates.

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The Administrative Court has upheld Lauwiner’s appeal on one point and partially overturned the decision of the cantonal safety directorate. According to the judgement, which is available to the Keystone-SDA news agency, the authorities should not have ordered the withdrawal without a prior in-depth examination of traffic and operational safety.

At the centre of the case is a decommissioned BRDM-2 armoured reconnaissance vehicle that Lauwiner had imported from Germany. The vehicle was registered in the canton of Zug. After Lauwiner moved to the canton of Bern, the local authorities revoked the vehicle licence and number plates due to safety concerns. Among other things, the road traffic office pointed to the sharp edges on the armoured car.

Lauwiner argued that his vehicle had been properly inspected and registered in Switzerland. It complied with the legal requirements. The Bernese authorities had wrongly relied on mere assessments.

Review necessary

The Administrative Court stated that there is no regulation that fundamentally prohibits the registration of former military vehicles for civilian road traffic. If there are doubts about road safety, an inspection must always be ordered. A withdrawal could only be justified on the basis of the results.

Lauwiner was unsuccessful on other points. Overall, the appeal was only partially upheld and Lauwiner must bear part of the costs of the proceedings. The judgement can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.

Sunday drive with a tank

The 31-year-old Lauwiner specialises in ownerless properties that form his “kingdom”. He has acquired at least 26 ownerless properties, including neighborhood streets. Politicians have become concerned about what some have called “abuse”.

On a Sunday in April 2024, he drove up to the Federal Palace in his armoured car, as the media reported at the time. According to Lauwiner himself, the vehicle was the fulfilment of a childhood dream.

Translated from German by AI/jdp

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