Independence of the judiciary – judges in western Switzerland no longer want to pay parties money – News


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In French-speaking Switzerland, more and more judges no longer want to have to give their party money. That has consequences.

The judges in the canton of Neuchâtel worry about their image in the population. That’s why they don’t want to pay their parties any more money: In a letter, the Neuchâtel judges’ association called on the parties to stop asking for money from them in the future – and it called on its members to stop paying these taxes. The Neuchâtel judges have thus rekindled the discussion about the so-called mandate taxes.

Independence of the judiciary in danger?

“One might think that we do not judge independently,” explains Marc Rémy, President of the Cantonal Association of Judges and Public Prosecutors (AMJN). The problem: judges have to give their parties a fixed part of their wages. “It’s about our intellectual independence. You might think that when we judge, we think about the fact that we have to be re-elected in a few years.”

Nonetheless, Rémy concedes, the canton’s judges are now independent. “We don’t feel any pressure from politics.” However, many judges are uncomfortable with regularly receiving a payment slip from their party with a request to pay a certain amount. Therefore, these payments should now be voluntary.

Mandate taxes exist at cantonal level, but also nationally for federal judges. This has been the subject of criticism for years, for example by GRECO, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body. The Swiss Association of Judges (SVR) also opposes this.

The trend is clearly towards a depoliticization of the judiciary

“The system is really old,” explains Alfio Russo. In his doctoral thesis, the Neuchâtel lawyer researched the electoral system for judges in Switzerland. “Judges in Switzerland have been elected by parliament for around 200 years.” The idea is that the weight of the political camps is roughly reflected in the composition of the courts. That is why the judges usually belong to a party, are appointed by it – and elected. “That’s why the parties want their people to contribute to the well-being of the party, just like elected politicians,” says Ruffo.

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This system has not been questioned for a long time. “In recent years, however, the discussion has developed,” says Russo. For example, with the discussion about the justice initiative at national level, which was rejected in 2021, but raised awareness of the issue. “The trend is clearly towards a depoliticization of the judiciary and the abolition of mandate taxes.”

Jura: parties facing money problems


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In the canton of Jura, the judges have taken action together and only pay the mandate taxes on a voluntary basis – if at all: As research shows, the amounts have fallen sharply. Many judges no longer pay at all.

This tears a hole in the cash register of many parties. Especially with the CVP, which provides a large part of the judges in the canton. Or with the SP, which traditionally demands higher mandate taxes.

This already has concrete consequences for the Jurassic SP. Instead of the judges, the other elected politicians in government and parliament, cantonal and national, now have to pay up to CHF 1,000 more per year.

The pressure is currently coming mainly from French-speaking Switzerland. In Geneva, the MCG party wants to ban judges from paying their parties anything. Until now, it has been the parties who determine this. In Valais, the SP demands a whopping 20 percent of the judge’s salary, and one judge no longer wants to pay. Similar discussions are taking place in Freiburg. The canton of Jura is already one step further.

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