Hello to all !
I just joined this Forum and have a question concerning this:
I have received a letter two weeks ago in german, from a court from a certain gemeinde in the canton of zh, where I have to go to court in Oct. 26. I wrote them a letter in English (I don't understand german and managed to translate the letter I received thru babelfish) telling them that I could not be in that date in Switzerland and that another date had to be arranged, and I received another letter (in german) saying that if I don't show up I will loose the case (so I understand).
1st. question: Is it legal that they write to you in german, knowing that you don't speak the language and that you don't live in the country?
2nd. question: Can they go ahead with the court date knowing that you wrote to them telling well in advance that you can not attend in that date?
Please your info in any experience in a similar case is highly appreciated as the day is approaching and I want to email them with my point of view asap. Thanks

what is the case to do with, loosely? Civil or criminal?

and you don't want to email them, you want to send a signed-for correspondence

Having just dealt with the Employment Court:

Answer Q1: English is not an official language of Switzerland, so as far as I am aware they can ignore your correspondence should they wish. You are the guest here, so you must fit in. If you require a translator on the day they may provide one for you free of charge, depending on what the matter involves.

Answer Q2: As Lob correctly pointed out, I hope all your correspondence is by way of registered letter, in most urgent cases Fax. If the court chooses not to vacate the date, then you show up or loose, as they say. You may also be liable to a fine for not showing up, especially if you initiated the proceedings.

The court system here does not have to pomp, grandeur and ceremony like most english-speaking countries, but it still demands the same respect.

Actually not - his location is in France and says he was not in Switzerland on the day in question.

I sympathise a little with the frustration. My brother was sent letters in Australia written in German. Each time he wrote to them explaining that he didn't understand a word he just got another one in German. It's one thing if they are writing to someone in Zurich, but quite another in Sydney.

Imagine if you got accused of something in China and they start writing to you in Chinese? Are you expected to take notice? To "fit in".

I'm all for making an effort with the local language, but enclosing at least an English translation of such letters when sending them to people in other countries wouldn't exactly kill them would it?

I don't know if the OP is French or speaks French - but since French is one of the official languages of the country, one would think that they could at least send the letter in French!

Litespeed is quite correct but as far as point two is concerned there is a protocol to be adhered to. You cannot be telling this exactly as it is and 26th of October is not exactly well in advance when we are 23rd today...

If you provide more details either via this thread or if it is personal over PM I will provide you the answers.

Richard

Ah, but that's the beauty of the whole cantonal system. You can trumpet the fact that you have four official languages in the country, but within your canton you can tell everybody else to naff off if they don't speak YOUR language. So it's great that French is an official language as well, but don't expect any official in Zurich to entertain writing it or speaking it. It's little wonder nobody every crosses the Röstigraben (invisible line between French and German parts of Switzerland)

To the original poster - what happens if you ignore all this? Well a judgment will be made against you which will probably never be forgotten. One day if you ever enter Switzerland and they check you'll be detained. You'll find that the internet and all the extra charges that they keep piling up will be massive.

I sure hope you are guilty, because if you are innocent this will become very unfair... Maybe you just want to cross off Switzerland from the list of countries to visit.

@litespeed: No, I don't fit in (in ch) thats why I left and I hope I never have to live there ever again! See I am one of the ones who left a good job to go work for Swissair just to see that it was the bigest mistake of my life.
The case is civil, envolving money that someone is claiming I owe them when I don't (not a lot of money).
Thanks to all answers in this one.
The other thing is, concerning the language, I do speak French fluently and beeing French one of the oficial languages in ch, and the fact that I dont live in the there anymore , could I ask them to use an oficial swiss language?

I'm not a lawyer - but does a Swiss court have an jurisdiction over you if you are no longer in Switzerland? Wouldn't the claimant have to pursue you through the French courts? Or maybe there are some sort of agreements between the Swiss and the EU on this subject?

Your best bet would be to get some sort of legal advice - are we talking about a large sum or a small sum of money here? In any case you may want to consider making some sort of submission regarding your case (perhaps by post) if the person suing you has no claim whatsoever.

Exactly my point. (sorry, I left it dangling for everyone to deduce on their own!)

Let me clarify: I received the letter Oct. 05, I answered Oct. 09 by letter, telling them that I would be away in the Oct. 26 ( I left Europe the Oct. 18 for 4 weeks, presently in the Middle east, and because I knew I couldn't check my mail I gave them my email adress) and last friday I got this email telling me that the court session would be in Oct. 26 regardless of my letter. This is the first time I am in court by the way.

Okay then I take it that a Betreibung (formal demand for money) was issued against you some time ago. In this case you need to answer the claim although it need not be in person. If you do not, you will be found guilty in absentia and the claim *might* then be transferred to the French courts for collection but not with an option to dispute. However I am not exactly sure this can be done as you I assume have a fixed address in France and not in Switzerland. I also assume you have formally deregisterd and left Switzerland. It will then depend on the court but the legal cases is not totally clear. If the case is for tax you can simply reply no fixed address in Switzerland. If it is not then you need to know whether Switzerland has an agreement with France for this and what exactly is in it. You can "reasonably" expect several hundred Francs to be added for court costs, legal costs and reasonable expenses. Additionally interest at the official rate which is 5% p.a. will be added until payment is made and this from the date the claim states the money was owed. Given that it takes several months, even years, to get this far you can assume an additional 1 or 2 percent here.

You are able to insist that any court or other official body writes to you in any one of the three common official languages, French, German or Italian, but not that they use that language during the proceedings - they will allow you to speak in this language however and will provide an interpreter free of charge.

You cannot request a stay at this stage unless this is due to reasons outside your control such as sudden illness, death in the immediate family or funnily enough legal detention. In any case you must notify the court of your impending absence. If you or a representative are present the claimant has the onus to prove the debt. If you are not there or have not provided a detailed written contention he simply needs to state the money as stated is owed and you will be liable.

Now the one question I do have is did you actually reject the claim when it was originally made, I assume so. If you did, did you do this on the 9th day? If so you should have seen at that time the "proof" of debt and can now provide a written counter. If not then you can ask for a copy of the files against you, but you are not likely to receive it in time or have they actually sent you a copy?

I suggest you simply inform the court that they do not have the authority to persue the case as your fixed abode is outside the Swiss boundaries.

When was your first letter though? The one to dispute the debt? I still assume you can claim no jurisdiction.

Hi,

I lived in switzerland quite some time ago. I cannot remember of I formally deregistered. And I am planning going back next year, would there be a problem if I hadn`t? Should I contact the Bureau des etrangers?
Joan

You are on a thread about court systems in Switzerland. Have you wandered onto the wrong thread?

I would like to thank all the inputs in my question, and I am just back because I recently received an email from the divorce office ( I guess its what they call it) and if you people are wiling to listen and give some advice based in experience in similar cases, I am willing to tell you my soap opera.