Convention concerning police transports

[2] 1 To the category of police transports covered by this Convention belong all transports ordered by the police, including transports of indigent persons, healthy or sick, who are returned or repatriated from one Canton to another (Canton of origin) or abroad, or from abroad to their Swiss Canton of origin.

2 The provisions of the regulations on the transport of indigent Swiss persons by Swiss transport undertakings remain reserved.

[2] See also Chapter 2 Nos. 20 and 28 (Police Transports) and Chapter 4 Nos. 40 and 46 (Indigent Persons) of Tariff 630 of Swiss transport undertakings, dated 1 November 1964.

1 The authority ordering a police transport shall ensure

a) that the person to be transported is first recognized as transportable and, if necessary, made so, meaning free from skin diseases and insects, and suitably clothed;

b) that their identity is ascertained where possible;

c) that their identification documents and personal effects are included with the transport.

2 Every police transport, whether escorted or not, must be accompanied by a transport order drawn up according to a uniform form.

Regarding the allocation of travel expenses, police transports ordered by the Cantons are divided into three categories

I. Travel expenses are borne by the recipient Canton

a) when the transported person has been requested by it or is to be criminally prosecuted by it;

b) when concerning Swiss nationals, healthy or sick, expelled or returned from abroad, arriving at the border, and being directed from there to their Canton of origin.

II. Travel expenses for persons, healthy or sick, returned or repatriated from Switzerland abroad, are borne by the Confederation.

III. Expenses for other transports are borne by the dispatching Canton. Among others, this category includes all repatriations of indigent Swiss nationals, healthy or sick, from their Canton of residence or domicile to their Canton of origin.

1. **Dispatch of Police Transports**

The dispatch of police transports is carried out, without prior payment of fees and based on an authorization [3], by railway administrations, which subsequently submit the bill to the cantonal police authorities.

2. and 3. ... [4]

3. Police authorities are solely competent to issue transport vouchers. [5]

[3] New designation according to Chapters 2 (Police Transports) and 4 (Indigent Persons) of Tariff 630 of Swiss transport companies, dated November 1, 1964.

[4] No longer applicable.

[5] Authorized Offices are now competent to grant authorizations, which also include transport vouchers, according to Chapters 2 no. 28 (Police Transports) and 4 no. 46 (Indigent Persons) of Tariff 630 of Swiss transport companies, dated November 1, 1964.

1 The statement of all transport vouchers used on the entire Swiss railway network is transmitted monthly by the revenue control of the Federal Railways in Bern to the Cantons; transports falling under category I (with the exception, however, of the return of the escort, see § 6 para. 2 and 3) shall be charged to the recipient Canton, all others to the dispatching Canton. The used transport vouchers shall serve as supporting documents. The amount of the respective accounts must be paid to the main Treasury of the Federal Railways [6] in Bern within one month from the transmission of the accounts themselves. The Federal Railways [7] undertake to settle accounts with other Swiss railway and steamboat companies.

2 The accounting offices of the Cantons are the cantonal police directorates.

3 For transports falling under category II and incumbent upon the Confederation, the Cantons shall transmit the account every three months, with supporting documents, to the Federal Department of Justice and Police.

4 Where an individual, not in detention, deported abroad, is able to pay in whole or in part the transport costs, the dispatching Canton shall deduct from the statement with the Federal Department of Justice and Police the sum for which reimbursement was possible.

[6] Now: Swiss Federal Railways, in accordance with Art. 1 of the Federal Act of 13 June 1944 (RS 742.31).

[7] Now: Swiss Federal Railways, in accordance with Art. 1 of the Federal Act of 13 June 1944 (RS 742.31).

1 If the transport is escorted, the escort costs fall into Category I (§ 3 above) to be borne by the recipient Canton, into Category II to be borne by the Confederation, and into Category III to be borne by the dispatching Canton. A transport shall only be escorted when it appears necessary due to the dangerous nature or condition of the person to be transported (youth, old age, infirmity, illness). For each individual case, the necessity of the escort shall be justified, in writing, at the time of presenting the statement of expenses. [8]

2 The fare reductions granted to escorts in accordance with the regulations concerning police transports on Swiss railways also apply to personnel accompanying all police transports within the meaning of § 1 of this convention, thus also to male and female nurses. ... [9]

3 The dispatching Canton shall transmit, for Category I to the recipient Canton and for Category II to the Confederation, the statement of escort expenses, which includes

If an escort has to return the transported person to the place of departure, or if they have to transport another person there, the minimum amount of the travel allowance is 6 francs, if the return, for official reasons, is delayed in such a way that the escort must take a main meal outside. If the delay forces them to take two main meals, the minimum amount of the travel allowance is 9.75 francs. The waiting time must be confirmed by the competent authority of the place where the delay occurred; [11]

2. in the case of an overnight stay by the escort, an accommodation allowance of 12 francs per night; [12]

3. return travel expenses, at half the price of an ordinary first or second-class ticket. [13]

The authorities must schedule transports at such a time that the escort is able, as far as possible, to return to the departure station on the same day the transport is carried out.

The statement is transmitted from time to time for each individual case. [14]

[8] The last sentence was introduced by the Annex to the FCD of 17 December 1935 (AS 1951, 997).

[9] Paragraph abrogated (Chap. 2 - Police Transports - of Tariff 630 of Swiss transport companies, of 1 November 1964).

[11] Item introduced by the provisional arrangement established by the FDJP, in agreement with the cantonal police directorates, on 1 August 1942. New amount of the allowance according to the circular of the Federal Police Directorate of 1 December 1953.

[12] New amount of the allowance according to the circular of the Federal Police Division of 1 December 1953.

[13] New text (Chap. 2 - Police Transports - of Tariff 630 of Swiss transport companies, of 1 November 1964).

[14] New text according to the Annex to the FCD of 17 December 1935 (AS 1951, 997).

1 Police transports are ordered and carried out directly from the place of departure to the place of destination. Consequently, transport vouchers will be issued from the place of departure for the entire journey.

2 The following shall be considered as the place of destination

a) for the repatriation of Swiss nationals to their commune of origin, the district capital in which this commune is located, or a railway station indicated in the transport order as the place of delivery, in agreement with the receiving Canton;

b) for the repatriation of foreigners, the station designated for this purpose;

c) for persons sought or requisitioned by the police, the seat of the requesting authority or, where applicable, a delivery station specially agreed upon in the individual case.

When the delivery of the transport at the border or at the place of destination encounters difficulties, the forwarding authority is obliged to take it back at its own expense.

1. The disembarkation (transshipment) of a transport from one train to another (or onto a steamboat) must be carried out by the police authorities of the Canton in which the disembarkation station is located, without any claim for compensation. To facilitate this service, trains carrying unescorted individuals are, as a rule, limited to four per day in each direction. Whenever a new timetable is to be introduced, the railway administrations shall inform the cantonal police authorities of the trains of this kind that affect their territory.

2. The special provisions relating to traffic along lines on which vehicles for police transports circulate remain in force.

The person to be transported must be fed before departure and also during the journey, if it is long, at important stations, under the care of the respective police posts. Where the transport cannot be completed in a single day, the transported person will be lodged during the journey (as a rule in the capital of the Canton or district) and fed with hot meals in the evening and the following morning. At subsistence and lodging stations, medical assistance and care must be available if needed.

1 The cantons concerned shall submit every three months to the Federal Department of Justice and Police a statement of the subsistence expenses, and possibly accommodation and medical assistance, for transports of category I, II and III. The Department shall examine the statement, apportion the totality of the expenses among all cantons participating in this convention, in proportion to their respective populations, and establish the general account.

2 No indemnity may be charged for the cooperation of police personnel in the subsistence and accommodation of transported persons.

1. For transports carried out within the territory of a single Canton, the Canton cannot record the expenses for subsistence during the journey and, if applicable, for accommodation and medical assistance in the intercantonal subsistence account.

2. Where transports are ordered by the Confederation, the Canton entrusted with the task must pay in cash, on behalf of the Federal Department of Justice and Police, the expenses for subsistence during the journey, accommodation, and medical assistance.

1. Subsistence and accommodation stations shall be designated by the Federal Department of Justice and Police, after hearing the cantonal police directorates.

2. Every meal during the journey, as well as every accommodation provided to a transported person, shall be recorded on the transport order by affixing the local stamp of the respective station; for meals during the journey, a round stamp shall be used, and for accommodation (with subsistence), a quadrangular stamp shall be used.

For transports ordered by the federal authorities (extraditions, expulsions from the territory of the Confederation, transit transports), the Cantons shall submit the relevant invoice in each individual case to the Federal Department of Justice and Police. This invoice shall include

1. travel expenses (see Art. 4 para. 3);

2. escort expenses according to the tariff established in Art. 6 paragraph 3;

3. subsistence, accommodation, and medical assistance expenses during the journey (see Art. 12 para. 2).

Transports shall, if at all feasible, be organized in such a way that they can be completed in a single day. They must not arrive at their destination or at the accommodation station after 8 p.m. Police transports shall not be carried out on Sundays, New Year's Day, Good Friday, Ascension Day, or Christmas.

Female persons must not be transported in a cell with men. If a special cell cannot be assigned to them, they shall be transported in III class [15] carriages and escorted, if necessary, by plainclothes police officers. The joint transportation of spouses and parents with their children remains reserved.

[15] Now: II class (Official Railway Bulletin of May 2, 1956, Comm. No. 244, page 283).

The police authorities shall ensure that the transport cells and, where applicable, the special transport vehicles, as well as the premises used for lodging or detaining the transported persons, are in good condition, clean and, if cold, heated.

Transport orders that have been executed must be kept at the place of destination for one year, available to the control offices of the Confederation and the Cantons. As soon as the transport has reached its destination, a receipt detached from the form must be immediately returned to the dispatching authority; for escorted transports, the receipt will be handed over to the escort.

The Federal Department of Justice and Police exercises general control over police transports. It shall decide on any disputes or complaints that may arise from the application of this convention.

This Convention is concluded subject to ratification by the competent federal and cantonal authorities. [16]

[16] The Convention is binding on the Confederation and all Cantons.

The Federal Council shall fix the date of entry into force of this Convention. [17]

[17] Entry into force: January 1, 1910 - FO 1909, 328.

This Convention may be denounced by the Contracting Parties at the end of each year and the denunciation shall take effect one year after that term.

Published in BU 1909, 328.