Facts

X., born in 1987 and a Somali national, was convicted by the Police Court of the Littoral and Val-de-Travers for having arranged for the complete or near-complete excision of her daughter B. in 2013, as well as the partial clitoral ablation of her daughter C. in 2013, while the family was still residing in Somalia. X. filed a criminal appeal against the judgment of the Criminal Court of the Cantonal Tribunal of Neuchâtel, which had rejected her appeal.

X. contested the possibility of prosecuting her in Switzerland for acts committed abroad while she had no connection to Switzerland at the time of the events. The Federal Tribunal had to determine whether Article 124(2) of the Swiss Criminal Code (CC) allows for the prosecution of an offender who committed the constitutive elements of the offense before their arrival on Swiss territory.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal held that Article 124(2) CC allows for the prosecution in Switzerland of female genital mutilation committed abroad, even if the offender had no connection to Switzerland at the time of the acts. This interpretation is based on several elements:

  • The wording of the law does not exclude prosecution when the offender acted while not residing or staying in Switzerland.
  • The preparatory work shows that the legislator did not intend to limit prosecutions to offenders staying in Switzerland at the time of the acts, but rather…