Swiss Review 3/2021

Swiss Review / June 2021 / No.3 15 lawyers congratulating her on her te- nacity. But she has also received hate mail, including one death threat, about which she notified the police. “This shows the hatred that certain people feel towards Roma,” she says, noting that to her mind, the Genevan law on begging had been created and applied specifically with this popula- tion group in mind. Legislative de- bates have indeed effectively focused on the Roma and themajority of fines, if not all of them, are issued to Roma people. This situation, if it could be proven, would constitute a violation of the prohibition on indirect dis- crimination, underlined the court. Geneva prepares a new law against begging In Geneva, the ECHR decision has caused something of a stir. The Gene- van public prosecutor, Olivier Jornot, who had been involved in drawing up the law against begging, has been obliged to halt all legal proceedings underway and to end the fining of people caught begging. Hundreds of fines issued no longer apply. In 2020, the Genevan police issued 3,723 fines for begging, amounting to 457,890 francs. In these operations, 5,278 francs was seized, as money consid- ered the product of an illegal activity is confiscated from those found beg- ging. For years, Bazarbachi has been vigorously opposing these fines, which end up being reduced by judges, in view of the vulnerable sit- uation of Roma. “This whole system is extremely expensive. There are other battles to fight,” states the law- yer, who deplores the launch of new cantonal draft legislation against begging by an FDP minister. Intro- duced at the beginning of March, this law would notably prohibit begging in any commercial or touristic street. The lawyer considers that the sanc- tions stemming from this legislation risk contravening the ruling of the ECHR. She is also uncertain of the po- litical gain to be had from the draft legislation. “The pandemic has in- creased poverty amongst Swiss peo- ple as well. There is more solidarity for the poverty-stricken, including the Roma,” opines Bazarbachi. Cantons under the spotlight The court’s ruling has forced all of the cantons to examine the legal risks of convictions which could be challenged, or even result in the pay- ing out of compensation. In Basel, a motion concerning the reintroduc- tion of the prohibition on begging had been adopted by the parliament. The ECHR ruling has caused this pro- cess to be suspended. In Lausanne, where the cantonal law on begging draws on the Genevan legislation, the ECHR ruling is currently under review. In Zurich, where the police currently issue fines to people found begging (700 fines in 2020), a com- munication issued in March indi- cated that for the moment, the court’s ruling would not change an- ything. The ruling in question has already had an impact outside Switzerland, as in France where criminal law only prohibits begging termed “aggres- sive”. In February, Parisian lawyer Lionel Crusoé, a specialist on such questions, represented the Founda- tion Abbé Pierre and the French League of Human Rights in contest- ing amunicipal ruling in the town of Metz prohibiting begging. “We used the European ruling in the argu- ments we laid before the court and we were successful,” he said. Above: Begging may cause a moral dilem- ma, but it poses no threat to public order, ruled the ECHR. Below: “BEGGAR” – a passport note by the Genevan police, with adverse conse- quences for this par- ticular Roma. Photos: Eric Roset, Geneva