Initiative «against foreign judges»: an issue of form rather than substance

Le Regard Libre N° 44 - Diego Taboada

The text proposed by the SVP undoubtedly represents a danger for the country. Despite an unprecedented mobilization against the initiative, the campaign is proving difficult. Communication management will be decisive in the rejection of the initiative, much more so than a debate on substantive arguments.

On November 25, the Swiss people will be asked to vote on (yet another) initiative launched by the SVP. After immigration, it is now the spectre of «foreign judges» that is being brandished as a major risk to Swiss sovereignty. Basically, this initiative calls for the systematic supremacy of federal law over international law. In the event of contradiction, the Swiss authorities would be obliged to renegotiate agreements and, in the most extreme cases, withdraw from treaties. All this, of course, in the name of sovereignty.