the Swiss and electronic communication in justice
We know from the previously discussed international instruments that Switzerland is supposed to accept electronic communication, including email, throughout its legal system. Switzerland confirms as much to the International Community in its reports to International Instruments. In reality it rejects electronic communication ...
Apparently the electronic transition of the Swiss justice system started in 2014. It was put in law in 2016. And according to Switzerland's answer to the CEPEJ, Switzerland claimed in the year 2018 between 50 and 99% of its justice system was available through electronic means.
The Swiss Federal State has a project called Justitia 4.0, whose purpose is transforming the Swiss justice system to an exclusively electronic one. By 2026 the whole Swiss justice system will happen exclusively electronically, providing only exceptions for accessibility impaired. Let's say from 2026 only people with disabilities will still be able to request exceptions to the “exclusively electronic justice” rule.
Swiss discrimination of electronic communication
Switzerland renders electronic communication with its authorities subject to criteria and administrative processes which are inaccessible and unintelligible to most.
The recent European based International Instruments and the recent Swiss law get interpreted unilaterally by Switzerland, discriminating against all methods of electronic communication. It borders totalitarian control and excludes non Swiss systems and/or nationals. As a consequence it is repressive, commits transnational repression and violates access to justice.
The Swiss claim in law that electronic communication is allegedly subject to certification, and needs to correspond to their unilaterally imposed criteria. The law to certify platforms is published on the federal web site. This web site indicates to find the appendix, the list, on a specific page by the Federal Office of Justice. This page states only informally IncaMail and PrivaSphere are certified. It confirms there is supposed to be an “annex” to the published law:
Cette liste constitue une annexe à l'ordonnance sur la reconnaissance des plateformes de messagerie ; elle ne figure ni dans le RO ni dans le RS.
The official appendix to the Swiss law, showing which systems are certified and why, is no where to be found on admin.ch References of its existence go round in circles. As such, no official list or annex of certified platforms. Typical Swiss Monkey Business ...
Among other criteria certification is:
1. based on proprietary, trademarked, closed computer code; 2. not based on open, internationally recognised standards; 3. requires the use a Swiss Identity Document and Swiss address; 4. requires the use a Swiss validated Electronic Signature; 5. required to be offered in Switzerland by Swiss entities.
The effects of the restrictive electronic communications law are, among others:
1. excluding access on the basis of nationality, language, citizenship and aptitude; 2. no regard to the needs and rights of Non-Citizens and Migrants; 3. exclusion of foreign, open source and recognised standards and systems; 4. impossibility for code, processes and procedures to be reviewed by Human Rights Organisations as to their integrity, validity and respect for human rights.
The in International Instruments and in basic Human rights enshrined all inclusiveness, including freedom of choice of electronic communication methods, are deliberately violated by Switzerland. Access to justice barriers and discriminations expressly versed against.
Let's also recall the 1999 Universal Community Service – Concerning New Communication and Information Services on the subject:
5 Member states should ensure that fair competition between providers of new communication and information services is not distorted by the implementation of the principle of universal community service.
As usual, Switzerland is going the totalitarian, discrimination, violation of access to justice, and violation of rights of non citizens and migrants way in its current electronic justice law projects. It has no regards or respect for its international obligations or Human Rights Instruments to which it is subject.
Swiss current and future law is so excluding and complex that even Swiss authorities violate it, and use other electronic communication methods.
the Swiss authorities email service
I'll try to be short on the technical stuff in this section, as I am not a technical person myself. I got help from someone who knows what they're doing in IT.
International standards
Certification of email (so you know it came from the person claiming to be the person) happens through internationally recognised protocols. DMARC, DKIM and SPF.
GDPR rules which will be discussed later find that encryption is really the only way to go.
The email provider I use with Swiss authorities, with a personal domain name, is compliant with GDPR, encryption, DMARC, DKIM, SPF, and more. Using an own domain, which was paid for and is registered in one's personal name, adds to the exclusion of doubt. And all my emails have a clear signature with address, phone and disclaimers as per international law provides. The legitimacy can't be doubted, and if need be all verifications can be performed.
the Neuchatel email system
Are we surprised it falls under the department of the Councillor ... Crystel Graf ? She is also responsible for the digitalisation of the Neuchatel Canton.
The Neuchatel IT service Service Informatique de l'Entite Neuchateloise (SIEN) prides itself being unique in Switzerland as to its IT integration. It even prides itself as actively collaborating in the whole of French speaking Switzerland, expliciting its influence and actions in Bienne, Porrentruy and Delémont. The Bern and Jura cantons in addition to its home base Neuchatel.
I can't wait to write more and publish the evidence on how those inter-cantonal integrations are setup to allow criminal activities by authorities to go unnoticed. But that's not for this topic.
SIEN indicate their IT services in detail. They manage the email communication of some 75.000 government users, including the emails of the judicial system.
SIEN does not use incamail or privasphere, they use SWITCH, another, non encrypted email provider which is not certified or on the list by Swiss Federal Government.
SIEN does have the internationally recognised authentication and authenticity protocols (DMARC, DKIM, SPF) in place.
As I documented in previous posts, Neuchatel authorities can of course still block legitimate and authenticated email as they pretty please. Which they do for maintaining their omerta, deniability and international repression.
the Swiss Federal email system
The Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT) is responsible for the Swiss Federal authorities. They use swissix for their electronic communication. They have exactly the same specs as SIEN: GDPR violation, authentication standards present, not using incamail or privasphere, and unencrypted.
Conclusion
International Law supersedes Swiss law. So we don't care about Swiss law and its criteria, and so do Swiss authorities email services.
Everyone can email with the Neuchatel and Federal authorities in a verified, authenticated, international and open standards respecting, official and judicially recognised manner. This corroborates Switzerland's claims in its 2018 report to the COE CEPEJ discussed earlier.
The Swiss could improve by offering the possibility to communicate with them using open standards encryption, and definitely need to respect GDPR.
However, Swiss authorities choose to violate electronic communication.
To be continued ...
- part 1 { any International Judiciary standards for email? Electronic Communication }
- part 2 { Switzerland subject to European electronic communication rules }
- part 3 { the Swiss and electronic communication in justice }
- part 4 { Swiss Judicial Electronic Communication conclusion: Human Rights Violations Galore }
Tags: #Rights #Accesstojustice
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information provided as is, without prejudice, without any prejudicial recognition, and with reservation of all rights, expressly without recognition of any Swiss competence which remains contested
for the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, all information on this blog, such as but not limited to documents and/or audio recordings and/or video recordings and/or pictures mentioned, have been made and/or collected, and published, in the interest of justice and the public at large
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies to everything on this blog
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