Facts
The case concerns a Ghanaian national, [Y.], who was employed as a domestic employee by a compatriot, X., in Switzerland. X. took advantage of Y.'s inexperience to make her work 50 hours a week for a remuneration of 300 francs per month, in addition to housing and food. The initial employment contract provided for a monthly salary of 1'527 fr. 50 for 50 hours of work per week. [Y.] filed a criminal complaint against X. for usury, and the Geneva Police Court sentenced X. to four months' imprisonment with a suspended sentence for four years. The Criminal Chamber of the Geneva Court of Justice upheld the judgment, and X. filed a public law appeal and a appeal for annulment with the Federal Court.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the conditions for admitting usury, as defined in Article 157 of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC). Usury consists in obtaining or being promised a disproportionate counter-performance by exploiting the weakness of the other party. The Federal Court found that [Y.] was in a weak position due to her inexperience and dependence on X.
The Federal Court also examined the objective element of the offense, namely the obtaining of a financial advantage in exchange for a service. It found that X. had obtained a financial advantage by having [Y.] work under conditions inferior to those provided for in the initial employment contract. The Federal Court also found that the advantage derived by X. was largely disproportionate, economically, to the service it had actually provided in exchange.
Finally, the…