ThoseOpen house in Mon-Repos
Four reasons to go behind the scenes of the Federal Court
We talk a lot about our Supreme Court, but its functioning remains poorly known to the public. A gap to fill on September 13 and 14 in Lausanne.
Place of the public deliberations of the federal judges, the great audience hall will welcome the curious on September 13 and 14 to discover the behind the scenes of the institution.
24 hours/Odile Meylan
- The Federal Court opens its doors to the public after a hundred and fifty years of judicial activity.
- The historic building retained its original furniture from 1927.
- The 40 judges debate publicly during the contentious deliberations.
- Unpublished archives will notably reveal the history of the first Swiss lawyers.
We hear about the Federal court Almost every day and yet, who can boast of knowing how the country’s highest jurisdiction works? Who knows that before having a permanent seat in 1875, the judges brought to rule on federal causes only met? Who has in mind the soap for the designation of Lausanne as the seat of our Supreme Court?
You have calculated well: for a hundred and fifty years that the TF oversees the Swiss legal order, draws the contours of case law, fixes beacons with a number of societal issues, in summary, watch over individual freedoms and the fundamental rights of citizens. After doing the exercise in 2023 for the 175 years of the Constitution, the TF organizes new open doors, embellished with guided tours, on September 13 and 14 in Mon-Repos. Here are four reasons for register.
In the first day setting
The interior of the Mon-Repos courthouse has not changed since its opening in 1927. On the walls, we find the portraits of all the ancient federal judges. And since 1974, former federal judges.
24 hours/Odile Meylan
It is worth discovering what is hidden behind the intimidating facade of the neoclassical building of Mon-Repos. Beyond the richness of materials and ornaments, the interior has the particularity of having been preserved as on the day of its opening, in 1927, when the federal judges have moved from the Montbenon Palacebecome too narrow. Decoration and furniture have seen decades and judges, which can be discovered all faces on the walls. Among the unpublished places, the beautiful library of 3e floor, under the roof, will be open for the first time to the public, with breathtaking views of Lausanne and the lake.
Even the garbage cans of the Federal Court date from 1927.
24 hours/Odile Meylan
To meet federal judges
Forty judges (25 men and fifteen women) from all linguistic regions sit in The eight courses of the Federal Courtalmost all installed in Lausanne (two courses in public law, those dedicated to social insurance, taxes and taxes, are Based in Lucerne). During the open doors, members of the Federal Court and their president, François Chaix, will be present to exchange with the public and answer questions, as well as many employees. Registrars, file managers, administrative staff, archivists, no less than 300 people work for the proper functioning of the TF.
In the foreground, Antje Van Mark, collaborator with human resources. During the open doors of 2023, this passionate about the institution was responsible for guided tours.
24 hours/Odile Meylan
An almost unique functioning in the world
The large courtroom is large enough (it even has high stands) to accommodate the public which sometimes crowds in public audiences. The judges sit mainly in the event of disagreement between them.
24 hours/Odile Meylan
Our Supreme Court is unique for a main reason: while most of the courts debate their closed decisions, citizens can attend the public deliberations of federal judges. These exchanges take place mainly in the event of disagreement between the judges mobilized by a cause, that is to say thirty times a year.
In most cases, the magistrates consult themselves by circulation of the file. But when they have to debate, they meet at the desk of a courtroom. At this ultimate stage of the procedure, the parties do not argue and only the judges are expressed, each in their language. They do not leave the room before a decision and the parties leave with knowledge of the verdict and the arguments which won.
Unpublished archives
Unpublished archive documents will be presented in the Plenum room. In particular, there will be emblematic affairs questioning the place of women in and before justice.
24 hours/Odile Meylan
Archivists of the Federal Court will highlight numerous documents never presented, including several historic procedural files. Like that of Emilie Kempin-Spyri, the first woman graduated in Swiss law, mother of three children, who wanted to be authorized to exercise as a lawyer. A request swept by the Federal Court in 1887. About forty years later, another pioneer, Dora Röding, born Röder, will obtain a reverse decision.
Spying cases, manufacturing explosives or bomb attacks that flowered during the two world wars will also be revealed, with all their procedural documents. Vintage costumes and a projection of several hundred photographs will allow the then the protagonists of then, in particular the ladies of cabarets, leading intelligence agents.
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