NCJ Number
78643
Date Published
1979
Length
29 pages
Annotation
Recent reforms in Swiss criminal law are compared to reforms in West German criminal law.
Abstract
Certain basic differences exist between Swiss and German law. While uniform German criminal law has been in force for more than 100 years, Swiss criminal law varied from Canton to Canton until 1942. As a result, German law is more systematic and differentiated than Swiss law. Furthermore, reform attempts in Germany have been marked by the conscious desire to loosen the dominance of Kantian and Hegelian ideas on criminal law. In Switzerland, in contrast, criminal law reform is viewed as a practical task with clearly defined goals. In general, the criminal law of various Cantons has, however, been influenced by outside models: in German-speaking Switzerland the effects of German law are still apparent. The first major revision of Swiss criminal law in 1949-1950 sought to improve protection of the State and to replace failed provisions from 1942. A second reform lasting from 1953 to 1971 was necessary to bring provisions on corrections in line with modern views of penalties according to the individual offender. The second reform was limited to the provisions on the penalty system and on juvenile criminal laws in the general part of the code. According to the new changes, prison facilities for first-timers and experienced criminals were separated, partial prison-release systems were introduced, and special treatment measures were intitiated for mentally ill offenders, alcoholics, and juveniles in need of work training. Changes in juvenile law abandoned moralizing penalties in favor of treatment or resocialization measures. A third revision begun in 1973 has attempted to define the conditions for abortion, to distinguish premeditated murder from murder under extenuating circumstances, to decriminalize sexual behavior which damages no one and does not involve children, and to eliminate the obsolete provision against adultery. While future reforms in Germany and Switzerland are expected to differ in certain areas, both countries will probably continue to eliminate outmoded laws and to seek similar solutions for areas of common interest such as pollution control, drug abuse, and traffic problems. Extensive notes are supplied.