CONVENTION concerning police transport (C-TP) - [A] (C-TP)

1. Police transports within the meaning of this convention include all transports ordered by the police, including the transport of destitute individuals, whether healthy or ill, who are deported or repatriated from one canton to another (canton of origin) or abroad, or from abroad to their original Swiss canton.

2. The provisions of the regulations concerning the transport of Swiss indigents by Swiss transport companies [B] remain reserved.

1. The authority ordering a police transport shall ensure

a. That the person to be transported is previously examined and, if necessary, rendered transportable, free from skin diseases and vermin, and suitably dressed;

b. That their identity is established, if possible;

c. That their identification papers and personal effects are included with the transport.

2. Every police transport, whether escorted or not, shall be accompanied by a transport order established according to a uniform form.

1. For the allocation of travel expenses, police transports ordered by the cantons are divided into three categories.

a. Transport costs are borne by the receiving canton

a. When it is the one that requested the transported person or that is called upon to prosecute them criminally;

b. When Swiss citizens, able-bodied or not, expelled or returned from abroad, arrive at the border, from where they are directed to their canton of origin.

b. The transport costs for persons, able-bodied or not, returned or repatriated from Switzerland abroad are borne by the Confederation.

c. The costs of other transports are borne by the sending canton.

d. This last category notably includes all repatriations of indigent Swiss citizens, able-bodied or not, from the canton of residence or establishment to the canton of origin.

1. The dispatch of police transports is carried out by railway administrations without prior payment of fees, based on a warrant [C]; the bill is then presented to the cantonal police authorities.

2. Only police offices have the authority to issue transport vouchers.

1. The account of the transport vouchers used across the entire Swiss railway network is sent each month to the cantons by the revenue control department of the Swiss Federal Railways in Bern. Transports in Category I (except for the return of escorts, see Art. 6, 2nd and 3rd paragraphs) are charged to the destination canton, while all other transports are charged to the originating canton. The used transport vouchers serve as supporting documents. The amount of the accounts will be paid to the main treasury of the Swiss Federal Railways in Bern within one month of their submission. The Swiss Federal Railways are responsible for settling accounts with other Swiss railway and navigation companies.

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

3. For the transportation costs of Category III falling under the responsibility of the Confederation, the cantons submit the account every three months, accompanied by supporting documents, to the Federal Department of Justice and Police.

4. When an individual who is not detained and is returned abroad has the ability to pay all or part of the transportation costs, the originating canton shall deduct the amount covered when settling accounts with the Federal Department of Justice and Police.

1. If the transport is escorted, the costs of the escort fall into category I (Art. 3 above) chargeable to the recipient canton, into category II chargeable to the Confederation, and into category III chargeable to the sending canton. A transport shall only be escorted if it appears necessary due to the dangerous character or the condition of the person to be transported (youth, old age, infirmity, illness). For each case, the necessity of the escort shall be justified, in writing, when submitting the statement of costs [D].

2. The tariff reductions granted to the escort under the provisions relating to police transports on Swiss railways extend to the personnel accompanying all police transports within the meaning of the first paragraph of this convention, including male and female nurses.

3. The sending canton shall submit, for category I to the recipient canton and for category II to the Confederation, the statement of escort costs, which shall include [E]

1. A travel allowance (for the outward journey) of 20 centimes per kilometre for the first 30 kilometres by rail or car, 10 centimes for subsequent kilometres, and 60 centimes per kilometre of route covered on foot, with a minimum of 4 francs and a maximum of 24 francs.

2. If an escort officer is obliged to bring the transported person back to the point of departure, or to escort another person there, the minimum travel allowance shall amount to 6 francs if the return transport was delayed by official acts to the point of obliging the officer to take a main meal outside. If the delay obliges them to take two main meals outside, the travel allowance shall amount to at least 9 francs 75 centimes. The authority of the place where the waiting occurred shall attest to its duration.

3. Where applicable, an allowance of 12 francs per night for the accommodation of the escort.

4. Return travel costs at half the ordinary II or I class ticket fare.

4. The authorities are obliged to schedule transports at such a time that the escort is able, as far as possible, to return to the starting station on the same day the transport takes place.

5. A special statement of account shall be submitted in each case [F].

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

2. The place of destination means

a. For the repatriation of Swiss nationals to their commune of origin, the district capital in which this commune is located, or a station indicated in the transport order as the place of handover, by agreement with the recipient canton;

b. For the repatriation of foreigners, the designated station;

c. For persons sought or claimed by the police, the seat of the requesting authority or, where applicable, a specially agreed handover station.

1. If the handover of the transported individual at the border or place of destination encounters difficulties, the dispatching authority is obliged to take them back at its own expense.

1. Transfers are carried out by the police authorities of the canton where the transfer station is located, without any compensation being chargeable for this task. To facilitate this service, trains transporting unescorted individuals are generally limited to four per day in each direction. The railway administrations will inform the cantonal police authorities of these trains as they pertain to their territory upon the introduction of each new schedule.

2. Provisions related to traffic on lines where special vehicles for police transports circulate are reserved.

1. The person to be transported shall be fed before departure and, during long journeys, at police stations located in major train stations. If the transport cannot be completed in one day, the person being transported shall be accommodated en route (usually in a cantonal or district capital), with a hot meal in the evening and the following morning. There must be, if necessary, relief and medical care available at sustenance and lodging stations.

1. The interested cantons shall submit every three months the invoices for subsistence, housing, and medical assistance related to transport to the Federal Department of Justice and Police. The Department shall review the invoices, apportion the total expenses among all the cantons participating in the present convention, in proportion to their population figures, and establish the general account statement.

2. No compensation may be charged for the services of police personnel responsible for the care and housing of the transported individuals.

1. For transport carried out within the territory of a single canton, the canton cannot charge the inter-cantonal maintenance account for en route subsistence, accommodation, and medical care expenses.

2. For transport carried out by order of the Confederation, the canton responsible shall pay in cash for subsistence, accommodation, and medical care expenses on behalf of the Federal Department of Justice and Police.

1. The Federal Department of Justice and Police shall designate the subsistence and lodging stations, after consulting with the cantonal police authorities. The organization of these stations falls under the responsibility of the cantons.

2. Each meal served en route, as well as each lodging provided to a transported person, shall be indicated in the transport order by affixing the local station stamp; a round stamp shall be used for meals, and a square stamp for lodging (including subsistence).

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

1. Travel expenses (cf. Art. 4, para. 3);

2. Escort expenses according to the tariff set out in Article 6, paragraph 3;

3. Expenses for subsistence, accommodation, and medical care en route (cf. Art. 12, para. 2).

1. Transportation must be organized, if possible, to be completed within a single day. They must not arrive at their destination or at the lodging station after 8 PM. Police transports shall not be conducted on Sundays, nor on New Year's Day, Good Friday, Ascension Day, and Christmas Day.

1. Women shall not be transported in cells with men. Unless a special cell is assigned to them, they shall be transported in Third Class [G] and escorted, if necessary, by plainclothes police officers. The joint transportation of spouses and parents with their children is reserved.

1. The police authorities ensure that the transport cells (possibly the special transport vehicles) and the premises used for accommodating transported persons are in good condition, clean, and, if it is cold, heated.

1. Executed transportation orders shall be kept at the place of destination for one year, available to the account control offices of the Confederation and the cantons. Upon arrival of the transportation at the destination, a receipt detachable from the form shall be immediately returned to the dispatching authority; for escorted transports, the receipt shall be handed to the escort.

1. The Federal Department of Justice and Police exercises general oversight over police transports. It resolves disputes and claims that may arise from the application of this convention.

1. This agreement is concluded with the approval of the competent federal and cantonal authorities.

1. The Federal Council shall determine the date of entry into force [H] of this convention.

1. This agreement may be terminated by the contracting parties at the end of each year, and the termination shall take effect one year after that date.