Judges and the law – a very strange combination, not only in Switzerland.
Last week, we reported here on how Zurich judges are handling the new maintenance law. We discussed how an association is redefining the changes proposed by parliament until the old status quo is restored.
Today we will report on a specific case, this time from Austria, but it could just as easily take place somewhere in Switzerland.
Here too, the law is bent, disregarded, and reinterpreted until the result is what the individual judge wants to make of it.
It is becoming increasingly clear that simply changing the laws is not enough. Our executive bodies are evidently only partially bound by the laws and can interpret them as they see fit, according to their own individual worldview. This must not be allowed to continue, as it contradicts the separation of powers and thus democracy in our country.