2023-06-07 16:45:16
Justice
Towards better compensation for crime victims
The National has accepted a motion by Philippe Nantermod (PLR / VS) which asks that the cantons be given more autonomy to set the amounts of aid to victims.
Posted
The law on assistance to victims caps the amount of compensation for moral injury at 70,000 francs for the victim and 35,000 francs for a relative.
TDG/LUCIEN LUCKY
It is a small step towards better financial support for victims of crime that the National voted on Wednesday. Indeed, he accepted by 141 votes against 51 a motion by Philippe Nantermod (PLR / VS), who considered that the amounts provided were too low and that the cantons should be given more autonomy to compensate the victims.
“Switzerland is not known for its generosity for the amounts for moral damages granted to victims of offenses”, underlined the Valaisan. “We are talking about a few thousand francs for lasting damage to the person and a few tens of thousands for the death of a person”, he noted, very small amounts compared to abroad. “But the situation is even more serious when the perpetrator of the offense finds himself, as is often the case, insolvent,” he said. Because it is then the State which takes over via the law on assistance to victims (LAVI).
“Suffering Scale”
“The LAVI establishes a scale of suffering which sets maximums (note: 70,000 francs for the victim and 35,000 for a loved one). But then there is a double maximum”, criticized the Valaisan. “First, a judge sets a scale for suffering – which is already low. And now the cantonal LAVI authority sets an even lower scale! he stormed. The elected official therefore demanded that the cantons have “the right to pay the full amount fixed by the judge and not to apply the reduced scale fixed by the Confederation”.
The Federal Council was opposed to the motion “which calls into question the very nature of moral reparation within the meaning of the law”, explained the Minister of Justice Élisabeth Baume-Schneider. “It constitutes a gesture of solidarity in recognition of the suffering suffered and does not replace reparation by the author,” she explained. Furthermore, allowing the cantons to set different ceilings would lead to significant differences at the Swiss level. “Which would be contrary to equal treatment between victims”. Finally, the Jurassienne recalled that the last revision of the LAVI precisely took into account an urgent request from the cantons to reduce the costs incurred in this area. In vain.
The case goes to the Council of States.
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