Legal action filed against Swiss purchase of Israeli drones

Legal action against Israeli drone purchase Keystone-SDA

Legal action aims to put an end to the delivery of the six Elbit reconnaissance drones already plagued by delays and setbacks.

The civil case aims to annul the contract signed between the Federal Armaments Office (armasuisse) and the Israeli company Elbit, and was filed simultaneously by a Palestinian couple who fled Gaza in 2024, the Group for a Switzerland without Armed Forces, the Geneva branch of the Swiss Human Rights League, and the Swiss Association of Lawyers for Palestine.

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According to lawyer Emma Lidén, quoted in a statement issued today, the application was filed with the cantonal court in Bern, where the federal government is based. The contract, which in fact supports the Israeli army, violates both international and Swiss law, says Lidén.

Originally, the agreement – approved by parliament in 2015 and initially valued at CHF250 million – provided for the delivery of six reconnaissance drones destined for the Swiss Army by the end of 2019. However, as of November 2023, the Israeli company “decided to focus its production capacities on the war effort against Gaza, postponing delivery to the end of 2026”, the statement continues. Meanwhile, the costs of the unmanned (and unarmed) aerial reconnaissance system have risen to CHF298 million.

For the plaintiffs, by accepting such a ‘clause’, the federal government “approves and supports the military action of a state that is currently accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and a possible genocide in Gaza”, the lawsuit states. “As a depositary state of the Geneva Conventions, Switzerland must immediately rescind this illegal and immoral treaty,” it adds.

With this contract, Bern has decided “to do business with a company that supplies weapons used in proven violations of international law”, Lidén stated and claimed that the agreement between Elbit and armasuisse is irreconcilable with the principle of neutrality enshrined in the Constitution.

At the beginning of the month, Urs Loher, head of armament at armasuisse, told Swiss public radio SRF that the delays and setbacks in the delivery of the drones had prompted the defence ministry to re-evaluate the project.

Although Loher himself has long argued that a termination of the contract is out of the question, he said that the ministry has reached a point where it is questioning whether it is worth continuing with the purchase. However, should the project actually be terminated, the armament chief expects that Elbit will certainly submit counter-claims and a lengthy legal dispute will inevitably follow.

According to armasuisse, therefore, a cost-benefit analysis is underway in order to be able to assess the variants more precisely. If cancellation of the contract is planned, it is particularly important to clarify whether some of the payments already made could be refunded or whether the supplier could even demand additional costs as a result of the investments made.

Adapted from Italian by DeepL/ac

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