Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact

Switzerland: State Protection Bill update

01 September 1996

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

In October the Council of States (the lower Swiss parliamentary chamber) withdrew an Article from the State Protection Bill that would have allowed the police to tap telephones and use bugs, microphones and video cameras to surveil private apartments. The Federal Minister of Justice and Police, Arnold Koller, recommended that conservative members drop the clause because it would be unpopular (see Statewatch, vol 6 no 4). The Council supported Koller's argument by two votes. Despite this the Council went on to recommend a new field of police work around "organised crime" despite concerns about territorial issues that might lead to differences between different police departments. The Kommittee Schluss mit dem Schnuffelstaat has decided to launch a referendum to oppose the State Protection Law, which would remove public access to police files (see Statewatch 6:4). The two chambers of parliament are expected to pass the Bill in December and the Kommittee will start collecting the 50,000 signatures needed for a referendum on December 24.

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

UK: New Police Bill

Next article 

Spain: Penal sanctions against minors

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy