Another unusual case from notoriously litigious Switzerland: A court has overturned a community’s denial of Swiss citizenship to a local who mowed his lawn on Sundays and holidays.
The man, originally French, had lived in Clos du Doubs in the Jura canton for over a decade when his request for naturalization was denied last year. The community assembly in the French-speaking municipality nixed the man’s request, basing the refusal on his decidedly ‘un-Swiss’ behaviour: he routinely disturbed public peace by mowing his lawn and doing yard work on public holidays. The assembly also complained that he was ‘rarely seen’ out and about and didn’t participate in community events.
Judges ruled that the man met all the legal requirements, including the length of residence and language proficiency, and that no formal complaints had been filed against him. Further, they pointed to favorable feedback he had received and his clean record and “stable professional situation.”
Citizenship decisions in Switzerland are made by local assemblies, and have often seemed capricious. Among other recent cases, a Dutch woman was denied because she had complained about the sound of cowbells and an Italian man who had lived in Switzerland for 30 years was turned down for lacking knowledge of a local zoo.
Image by andreas160578 from Pixabay
