[opiniojuris] Julian Ku: A Swiss Backlash Against International Law?

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Posted by Julian Ku:
A Swiss Backlash Against International Law?
http://www.opiniojuris.org/posts/1187030327.shtml


   The Swiss have always represented an unusual blend of pro- and anti-
   internationalism. For instance, they only recently joined the United
   Nations, yet the U.N. has more offices in Switzerland than anywhere
   else in Europe (probably). They remain a weird outlier in continental
   Europe, surrounded by the EU yet, as far as I know, they haven't even
   applied for EU membership. And now, a Swiss Justice Minister,
   Christoph Blocher, is getting lots of [1]criticism for [2]remarks (in
   German, French, and Italian) that seemed to sharply criticize using
   international law to restrain Swiss democracy.
   Speaking on August 1 - Swiss National Day, Blocher took umbrage at
   international law, saying it was restricting direct democracy, notably
   people's initiatives and referendums.
   This should hardly have come as a surprise. His party, the rightwing
   Swiss People's Party, continues to launch or back initiatives that
   could, if adopted, contravene the United Nations charter on human
   rights or the European Convention on Human Rights.
   That is already the case with one initiative calling for dangerous
   criminals to be jailed for life, which parliament is currently unable
   to transform into law. A similar fate could lie in store for other
   proposals such as a ban on minarets and the deportation of foreign
   criminals, which was launched on August 1.
   Tougher legislation on foreigners and asylum, which was approved by
   voters in September last year and came into force on January 1, also
   ran into trouble.
   The UN refugee agency maintains that some of the measures in the
   revised asylum law run contrary to the "spirit and letter" of the 1951
   Geneva refugee convention.

References

   1. http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/Blocher_takes_swipe_at_international_law.html?siteSect=105&sid=8102303&cKey=1187020087000&ty=st
   2. http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/ejpd/de/home/dokumentation/red/2007/2007-08-01_gruyeres.html