Personnel Risk:
Very Low
Score:
89/100
Leadership Behaviour
Q34
67/100
Do the Defence Ministry, Defence Minister, Chiefs of Defence, and Single Service Chiefs publicly commit, through, for example, speeches, media interviews, or political mandates, to anti-corruption and integrity measures?
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The most recent three ministers of defence were Ueli Maurer (2009-2015), Guy Parmelin (2016-2018) and currently Viola Amherd (2019-) [1]. Mr. Maurer’s anti-corruption focus…
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Ueli Maurer was minister of defence and sport during the World Football Federation (FIFA) corruption scandal. He publicly stated that “corruption and bribery need…
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Except for reactive statements given in the wake of an expenses scandal by the head of the army [1], no statements by senior ministry…
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Q35
100/100
Are there effective measures in place for personnel found to have taken part in forms of bribery and corruption, and is there evidence that these measures are being carried out?
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The code of conduct for federal personnel, which also applies to the military, summarizes the rules for government employees. It discusses gifts and invitations…
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The Federal Office of Police’s (Fedpol) Federal Criminal Police division (Bundeskriminalamt) conducts criminal investigations for the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland acting…
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Q36
83/100
Is whistleblowing encouraged by the government, and are whistle-blowers in military and defence ministries afforded adequate protection from reprisal for reporting evidence of corruption, in both law and practice?
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There is a lack of whistleblowing legislation in Switzerland as far as the private sector is concerned. There is no specific whistleblowing law [1].…
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Article 22a of the BPG creates an obligation for employees to report any illegal activity to their superiors, the Swiss Federal Audit Office or…
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The obligation to report has been in effect since 1 January 2011. Since then the SFAO has seen a steady increase in complaints. Over…
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Q37
100/100
Is special attention paid to the selection, time in post, and oversight of personnel in sensitive positions, including officials and personnel in defence procurement, contracting, financial management, and commercial management?
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There are general legal provisions that apply to all employees of the confederation and that are summarized in the code of conduct. This includes…
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Initially triggered by a problematic appointment with the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), in 2013 a report of the Control…
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Employees of the federal administration have an obligation to report illegal activities to their superior or the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO). Whistleblowers are…
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Payroll, Promotions, Appointments, Rewards
Q38
67/100
Is the number of civilian and military personnel accurately known and publicly available?
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The Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) publishes a yearly average of personnel on their website. However, they do not distinguish…
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Switzerland has a conscription army. The number of professional military soldiers are relatively small. No precise up-to-date numbers for professional troops are easily available.…
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There are no reports in the media or otherwise of ghost soliders. This is unlikely to be a relevant phenomenon in Switzerland [1].
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Q39
100/100
Are pay rates and allowances for civilian and military personnel openly published?
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The basis for all rules concerning personnel working for the federal administration can be found in the Federal Personnel Act (Bundespersonalgesetz) (BPG) [1]. The…
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The basis for all the rules concerning personnel working for the federal administration can be found in the Federal Personnel Act (Bundespersonalgesetz) (BPG) [1].…
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Q40
100/100
Do personnel receive the correct pay on time, and is the system of payment well-established, routine, and published?
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The Code of Obligation of the Federal Civil Code defines the rules of salary payment. In case of delayed repeated delayed payments the employee…
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The Code of Obligation of the Federal Civil Code defines the rules of salary payment. Incorrect payments would lead to legal actions based on…
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The basis for all rules concerning personnel working for the federal administration can be found in the Federal Personnel Act (Bundespersonalgesetz) (BPG) [1]. The…
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Q41
83/100
Is there an established, independent, transparent, and objective appointment system for the selection of military personnel at middle and top management level?
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Given the nature of the Swiss conscription system, there needs to be a distinction between the military and civilian personnel. Ranks and special functions…
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Ranks and special functions are defined in the law on the military and military administration (Militärgesetz) (MG). The law defines the existing ranks (Article…
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Ranks and special functions are defined in the law on the military and military administration (Militärgesetz) (MG) [1]. The law defines the existing ranks…
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Q42
94/100
Are personnel promoted through an objective, meritocratic process? Such a process would include promotion boards outside of the command chain, strong formal appraisal processes, and independent oversight.
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Promotions within the administration follow the same rules across the different ministries. All employees are subject to yearly evaluations by their line managers (Article…
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Ranks and special functions are defined in the Law on the Military and Military Administration (Militärgesetz) (MG). The law defines the existing ranks (Article…
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Promotions to the most senior ranks are decided by the Federal Council (VMDP, Article 39 and Annex 3) [1]. Promotions to Stabsadjutant (“Warrant Officer”…
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Promotions to the most senior ranks are decided by the Federal Council (VMDP, article 39 and Annex 3) [1]. Promotions to Stabsadjutant (“Warrant Officer”…
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Conscription and Recruitment
Q43
100/100
Where compulsory conscription occurs, is there a policy of not accepting bribes for avoiding conscription? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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There are no specific rules to address bribery with regards to the compulsory conscription. However, the general laws about bribery apply. The military penal…
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There are no specific sanctions for bribery with regards to the compulsory conscription. However, the general laws about bribery apply. Title 19 Article 322…
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Appropriate sanctions or punishments are applied when bribery occurs. There are no reports of cases of bribery with regards to compulsory conscription during the…
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Q44
100/100
is there a policy of refusing bribes to gain preferred postings? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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The code of conduct for federal personnel, that also applies to the military, summarizes the rules for government employees. It discusses gifts and invitations,…
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The code of conduct for Federal personnel, that also applies to the military, summarizes the rules for government employees. It discusses gifts and invitations,…
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There are no reports on cases of bribery with regards to promotions during the period covered by this report. A 2018 brochure on compliance…
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Salary Chain
The chain of command and chain of payments are separated across the board. The Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) is…
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Values and Standards
Q46
94/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all military personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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The Code of Conduct for federal personnel, that also applies to the military, summarizes the rules for government employees [1]. It discusses gifts and…
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The Code of Conduct for federal personnel as well as the guidance on compliance are available online [1, 2]. The code of conduct is…
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There are a few publicly known breaches that were investigated at the highest level. There were reports on a case that occurred in 2019.…
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Although this research did not find direct confirmation of inclusion of the general Code of Conduct Federal Administration into the induction training specifically, it…
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Q47
94/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all civilian personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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The Code of Conduct Federal Administration (COC), that also applies to the military, summarizes the rules for government employees. It discusses gifts and invitations…
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The COC, as well as the guidance on compliance, are available online [1, 2]. The COC is distributed to all federal employees [3]. The…
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There are a few public known breaches that were investigated at the highest level. For example, there were reports on a case that occurred…
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Although this research did not find direct confirmation of inclusion of the general COC into the induction training specifically, it seems very likely that…
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Q48
42/100
Does regular anti-corruption training take place for military and civilian personnel?
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There is no evidence that corruption training is done systematically for all employees across the board until recently. However, the Code of Conduct (COC)…
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With all employees being bound by the Code of Conduct (COC) for Federal Personnel from induction [1] and some employees at the DDPS have…
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Beyond the general rules on behaviour that are communicated upon entry into service (Code of Conduct for Federal Employees, specific codes and rules) [1,…
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Q49
92/100
Is there a policy to make public outcomes of the prosecution of defence services personnel for corrupt activities, and is there evidence of effective prosecutions in recent years?
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Article 48 of the Swiss Military Penal Trial Procedures (Militärstrafprozess) (MStP) defines all procedures, but not the deliberation and votes as public (Article 48.1).…
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Article 48 of the Swiss Military Penal Trial Procedures (Militärstrafprozess) (MStP) defines all procedures, but not the deliberation and votes as public (Article 48.1).…
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Article 1 of the MStP guarantees the independence of the military justice system [1]. Article 204 of the MStG regulates the independence of disciplinary…
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Q50
100/100
Are there effective measures in place to discourage facilitation payments (which are illegal in almost all countries)?
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The Swiss Criminal Code (StGB) explicitly prohibits facilitation payments (“Briberies”). Any person who “offers, promises or gives […] a member of the armed forces…
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There are no reports on facilitation payments involving Swiss government officials in general, or of the defence department in particular. The main concern with…
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A search for cases on facilitation payments involving the Swiss defence sector during the reporting period did not yield any results. If such cases…
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