Expulsion of the appellant despite the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons

Facts

The appellant [X.] , an Italian national, was convicted by the Criminal Court of the Canton of Basel-Stadt for endangering life and drug offenses. The Court of Appeal of the Canton of Basel-Stadt additionally imposed a 5-year expulsion order against him. The appellant filed a complaint against the expulsion order with the Federal Supreme Court. He argued that the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the EU guaranteed him a right of entry and a short stay of up to 3 months, and therefore an expulsion order was not permissible.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the complaint. It stated that while the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons grants a general right of entry, it does not provide a comprehensive right of residence. Since the appellant did not have a right of residence in Switzerland, the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons is not applicable in his case. Consequently, the expulsion order under Art. 66a para. 1 lit. b of the Swiss Criminal Code is not precluded. The Federal Supreme Court also examined whether there was a case of hardship within…