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The begging ban is likely to be weakened. The European Court of Human Rights has approved a complaint by Romanian Roma in Geneva.
L., now 28, made a living as a beggar in Geneva. There, as in more than half of the Swiss cantons, begging is prohibited. Therefore, L. was sentenced several times to police buses worth a total of a few hundred francs. She was unable to pay and was sentenced to five days in Champ-Dollon Prison.
L. resisted the fines and imprisonment, but his complaints were rejected by the cantonal authorities and the federal court. Then it came to the ECHR, the European Court of Human Rights.
And now it gives him the right, unanimously. That means, also with the voice of the Swiss judge of the Strasbourg court, Helen Keller. The ECHR also grants L. a small token compensation.
Violation of the Human Rights Convention
With the buses and the arrest, Switzerland violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which deals with respect for private and family life. From the point of view of the Strasbourg judges, people with financial difficulties should be able to draw the public’s attention to their situation and beg for alms.
Especially when they do it non-aggressively. According to the ECHR, the fines against L. corresponded to the applicable law. However, this right in itself, namely the prohibition of begging and its enforcement, is problematic.
Legend:
The ban on begging in Geneva is illegal, according to the ECHR.
Keystone
The Court treated the Swiss case in a very fundamental way, as it is not typical of Switzerland alone. Therefore, this judgment is likely to have far-reaching consequences for many States. According to the court’s compilation, begging is prohibited or restricted in more than half of the member countries of the Council of Europe.
They are applied with varying degrees of severity: the penalties range from mere verbal warnings or evictions without penalty to fines and imprisonment. The prohibition of begging is based mainly on the will of the authorities to avoid disturbing public order or harassing passersby. Security considerations, or the fight against organized crime and the exploitation of dependents by the masterminds of the begging gangs and families, are also often cited.
Not all forms of begging are punishable
The Strasbourg court does not deny that some forms of begging are problematic and limit the freedom of others. As a result: certain restrictions are allowed. On the other hand, it would be disproportionate to criminalize any form of begging.
In the specific case of Geneva, according to the judges, an “extremely vulnerable person” was punished disproportionately. A person who probably could not earn a living by any other means.
Due to the judgment of the highest human rights authority in Europe, cantonal and communal begging bans are likely to have a difficult position in the future. Especially when they are comprehensively formulated and strictly enforced.
