Seco has to give data on arms exports

The Federal court in a published judgment, the decision of the Federal administrative court. This came in March of last year, concluded that an increased public information of interest to the controversial and, in principle, subject to authorization of war material exports.

The exports could be the subject of controversial debates in Public and politics. The media made a significant contribution to the control of governmental activities, wrote to the Federal administrative court. It is the task of the media to report on whether the state control authorities complying with their obligations.

Seco, had been denied to the journalist of the "weekly" (WOZ) publishing the desired data from the beginning. It took the view, according to the war material act, to be guided exclusively by the business audit Commission of the Federal Parliament on the details of the export of war material. The democratic control is only carried out by the audit Commission and not by the Public, argues the Seco. It also made foreign and security policy reasons.

interests of Switzerland

endangered The the Federal court. It looks after the interests of Switzerland are not endangered. If no specific trade secrets can be invoked, it must call the Seco the name of the company.

The WOZ is pleased with the judgment of the Federal court, as it says in a media release Wednesday. Thus, the public interest in transparency will be weighted higher than that of the gun lobby.

The WOZ-Journalist Jan Jirat had submitted the application to Seco after the Emergence of hand-grenades of the Federal government's own armor operation Ruag in the civil war in Syria.

judgment 1C_222/2018 from 21.03.2019

(sda)

Created: 24.04.2019, 12:30 p.m.