Topics: Military justice Switzerland, Armed Forces Attorney General, independence, challenges, autonomy, duration of proceedings, women integration, military criminal law, career tips, Swiss Army
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Good morning Mr. Flachsmann. Could you please describe your career path and explain how you became the Armed Forces Attorney General of military justice?

After earning my doctorate in 1992 under my teacher, Prof. Jörg Rehberg, I obtained my Zurich lawyer's license in 1994. I then worked for two years at an insurance company before becoming self-employed as a lawyer in the spring of 1997. My focus was on criminal law, primarily in defense work.

Since 1989, I have been teaching at the  University of Zurich , and since 1996 as a lecturer. Since 1999, I have also taught military criminal law and military criminal procedure law, alongside other courses.

Militarily, I was assigned to artillery until 1992. From 1993, I held various positions, including court clerk, investigating judge, and auditor (military prosecutor), up to the president of the first instance. Additionally, I worked for ten years in the area of aviation accident investigations as an investigating judge. From the late 1990s, I was also involved in training personnel of  military justice , and from 2004, I served as head of training. In 2015, I was appointed by the Federal Council as the Armed Forces Attorney General of military justice, a position I took up in 2016. Since this is a full-time position, I am no longer practicing as a lawyer.

What tasks do you handle in your role as Armed Forces Attorney General?

According to his legal mandate, the Armed Forces Attorney General is responsible for the administration of military justice. He also oversees the activities of those involved in prosecution within military justice and exercises supervision over all personnel in military justice, while respecting the independence of military courts. He advises and supports members of military justice and ensures their professional training and education. Fundamentally, he and his team in the Office of the Armed Forces Attorney General create the conditions for high-quality jurisprudence in military courts and ensure that military justice can fulfill its legal obligations.

Due to the extensive responsibilities, you carry a lot of responsibility as Armed Forces Attorney General. How do you ensure your independence, and how do you ensure that military justice can operate independently?

The independence of Swiss military justice is formally guaranteed by Article 1 of the Military Criminal Code. In practice, however, this is primarily ensured by the militia status of its members. Very few in military justice are salaried employees of the army due to their civilian professions; rather, they are often lawyers, judges, court clerks, or prosecutors. This status secures the "internal" independence of the individual in their thinking and against external influences. Any influence from the army and its commanders on the decisions of military justice is formally very limited. Nevertheless, military justice must defend its independence anew every day. All members of military justice must be clear about their role as members of the judiciary while also wearing army uniforms, maintaining mental distance from the army, and being able to fend off any attempts at influence, even if these are rare. I have not had to defend my own independence so far. It has never been questioned by the army leadership or the administration.

How can one join military justice, and what prerequisites are required?

The law requires a completed law degree with a licentiate or master's from a Swiss university or a cantonal lawyer's license. Additionally, military or professional experience in criminal law is required. However, the key factor is the motivation to delve into the specific subject matter of military criminal cases. For tasks that do not require legal expertise, other members of the army can also be assigned to military justice.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of joining military justice?

Let me start with the advantages. I am convinced that engaging with an alternative criminal procedure can also enhance understanding of the work in civilian criminal justice. Similar to the army, responsibility can be taken on earlier in military justice than in civilian professional life. However, military justice does not operate in a legal sandbox. It is always dealing with real cases, with real accused individuals that can lead to real sanctions. Finally, members of military justice can also benefit from a legal network that extends throughout Switzerland.

Since members of military justice do not participate in refresher courses but are on constant standby, balancing family and work can sometimes be a significant challenge. - Dr. Stefan Flachsmann

On the other hand, I do not want to downplay the challenges associated with taking on a role in military justice. Since members of military justice do not participate in refresher courses but are on constant standby, balancing family and work can sometimes be a significant challenge. However, for many members of military justice, it is also an advantage that they do not have to serve three or four weeks of military duty in a row, especially since deployments in military justice are more or less predictable. Nevertheless, the time commitment should not be underestimated.

Military justice aims for increased integration of women. What measures are you taking to achieve this goal?

Since 2017, I have regularly written letters to all female members of the army to inform them about opportunities for participation in military justice. All female jurists are eligible for all judicial officer positions. Non-jurists have the opportunity to serve as troop judges in a military court. For those female jurists who are not assigned to the army but are interested in taking on a role in military justice, we offer the possibility of being assigned to military justice and subsequently undergoing a shortened military basic training before starting their training in military justice.

Today, there are significantly more women than men among the students attending my lectures. Therefore, military justice cannot afford to forgo female members, especially since they are essential in some of its proceedings. - Dr. Stefan Flachsmann

Even when I started my law studies in the fall of 1983, there were about as many women as men in my semester. Today, there are significantly more women than men among the students attending my lectures. Therefore, military justice cannot afford to forgo female members, especially since they are essential in some of its proceedings. Currently, the proportion of women among military justice personnel is over 10%, which is many times higher than in the army. Among troop judges, the percentage of women even exceeds 30%. Despite this positive development, I will advocate for further increasing the proportion of women in military justice.

In the past, there have been debates about transferring the responsibilities of military justice to civilian judicial authorities. What reasons support maintaining an independent military justice system?

Recent parliamentary initiatives aimed to transfer the jurisdiction of military justice over civilians to civilian criminal justice. The military criminal procedure already allows civilian individuals to be defendants in military criminal proceedings only in very few exceptional cases, such as the violation of military secrets or foreign military service. The jurisdiction of military justice has proven effective in these cases because they also involve military expertise. Thus, military justice still has its justification today as a specialized judiciary. Ultimately, however, the regulation of jurisdiction between civilian and military criminal justice is a political issue that must be decided by the legislator.

Some investigations and proceedings take unusually long periods. How do you assess these delays, and what measures is military justice taking to expedite them?

It cannot be denied that proceedings in military justice, as well as in civilian criminal justice, often take longer today and sometimes excessively long. I am aware that a criminal proceeding is an even greater burden for both the victims and the accused the longer it takes. Therefore, I cannot simply accept the current situation. In particular, we can certainly improve compliance with the requirement for expediency. This is also a recurring topic in the regular control discussions with the respective procedural leadership. Additionally, the ongoing digitization of our procedures contributes to reducing the duration of proceedings. However, our ability to influence the duration of proceedings has its limits. In recent years, the rule of law has significantly expanded the participation rights for third parties and accused persons. This expansion of the rights of victims and defense naturally did not lead to expedited proceedings. Furthermore, for our militia members, it is not always easy to balance professional and private challenges with their duties in military justice. However, this should not deter us from continuing to strive to keep the duration of our proceedings as short as possible.

In conclusion: What advice would you give to individuals interested in a role in military justice?

Do not let anything dissuade you from your plans, regardless of what others may say. Contact us by phone so that we can align your expectations with our possibilities. You can reach us at 058 464 33 03. We are happy to advise you and look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for the fascinating insights into your work and military justice. We wish you all the best.

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