Commander of a border guard region rightly transferred

Due to various problems relating to personnel management that emerged in May 2018, the commander of the Swiss Border Guard Region IV was temporarily relieved of his role in August 2018 and transferred to a new role under the command of the Border Guard in Bern. In this context, the responsible Swiss Federal Department of Finance (FDF) initiated a criminal and an administrative investigation, the latter being suspended until the results of the criminal investigation were available. In November 2018, the Swiss Federal Customs Administration (FCA) informed the person concerned of his definitive suspension as commander of Border Guard Region IV because of a breakdown in confidence. The person concerned lodged an appeal against this decision with the Federal Administrative Court (FAC).

Loss of confidence

The FAC now confirms the measure by the lower court. Firstly, a loss of confidence amongst personnel in their commander made appropriate leadership extremely difficult. Secondly, the commander did not inform his superiors of the problems at hand with the necessary diligence and speed. This also damaged the relationship of trust with his command and his direct superiors.

On the basis of these facts and given the particular aspects of the role of commander of a Border Guard region, the FCA had no choice but to transfer the person concerned in order to ensure duties are properly fulfilled.

This judgment may be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.