Commission of the Council of States demands: Murder should no longer be time-barred

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The Legal Commission of the Council of States (RK-S) has opened a consultation until April 16, the parliamentary services announced on Tuesday. The committee adopted the preliminary draft in the autumn with 5 votes in favor and 0 abstentions.

The concern about professional initiative is controversial in the RK-S. According to the statement, she led controversial discussions. These revolved around the interests of victims’ relatives in education and punishment, which persist decades after the crime and which “counter the systemic importance of the statute of limitations for the restoration of legal peace,” as was said.

Not in juvenile justice

It has also been controversial how technological developments such as the analysis of DNA affect the investigation of crimes that took place decades ago. The RK-S does not want to implement the professional initiative word for word. In the criminal code and military criminal law, murder may not be subject to a limitation period, but not in juvenile criminal law. However, this should not be the case for other crimes for which life sentences are also threatened.

The canton of St. Gallen had called for “no statute of limitations for serious criminals,” arguing that technology such as DNA analysis could allow perpetrators to be convicted long after a crime. Nowadays, crimes punishable by life imprisonment expire after thirty years.

The majority in the councils was small for the issue. The Council of States initially rejected St. Gall’s initiative, but the National Council subsequently accepted it with 90 votes against, 89 and 10 abstentions. In a second attempt in December 2021, the Council of States ultimately approved the initiative by a vote of 21 to 20. (SDA)

Source:Blick