Switzerland’s highest court has ruled that the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) must give a Swiss journalist company data on arms exports.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone SDA/sb
Español
es
Autoridades suizas deben informar sobre venta de armas
The Federal Court rejected an appeal by SECO which had refused to transfer detailed information to a journalist from the WOZ newspaper on companies that had filed arms exports requests in 2014.
In a decision published on WednesdayExternal link, the court backed an earlier ruling by the Federal Administrative Court on behalf of the WOZ journalist, who had filed a freedom of information request.
Last March, the Federal Administrative Court had ruled in favour of the journalist, stating that it was public interest to ensure greater transparency and information on arms exports and that the media played an important role in holding the authorities to account in this regard.
SECO had argued that, in accordance with the law on war materiel, only the parliamentary oversight committee should be sent the details on Swiss arms exports. It said that publishing details on arms exports could also displease importing countries.
However, the Federal Court said publishing such information was not a threat for Switzerland’s interests. If there is no business secret involved, SECO must publish the firms’ names.
Hot topic
Rules governing arms exports and calls for greater transparency remain a hot topic in Switzerland. In 2008 the government tightened rules on arms exports; in 2014 it relaxed them on behalf of parliament.
In October 2018 the government abandoned plans to ease Swiss weapons exports following a public outcry.
In December 2018 campaigners started collecting signatures for a people’s initiative to prevent the Swiss government from relaxing rules for exporting arms to conflict-ridden states.
Popular Stories
More
Demographics
Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Switzerland among world’s most expensive for household electricity
This content was published on
According to a study by the comparison site Verivox, based on data from Global Petrol Prices, Switzerland came in tenth out of 143 countries.
Global uncertainty boosts Swiss-EU talks, says Cassis
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis says Switzerland’s talks with the European Union (EU) have been boosted by the current difficult global situation.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss gun tradition in the crossfire
This content was published on
Emotions are running high ahead of a nationwide vote on reforming Swiss gun law. The outcome of the referendum will affect ties with the EU.
This content was published on
Swiss companies last year exported government-approved war materiel to 64 countries with a total value of CHF510 million.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.