Facts
The appellant, a Macedonian born in 1987, entered Switzerland in 1994 as part of a family reunification and had a settlement permit. He was convicted in 2010 of a qualified violation of the Narcotics Act and sentenced to a partially suspended prison sentence of 18 months. The Migration Office of the Canton of Thurgau subsequently revoked his settlement permit and expelled him from Switzerland. The appellant had been living in Switzerland since the age of 7, attended school, and trained as a painter. At the time of the offense, he was 19 years old and had been cooperative and confessed after his crime.
The Federal Court overturned the judgment of the Administrative Court of the Canton of Thurgau and upheld the appeal in public law matters. It found that the revocation of the settlement permit was disproportionate, as the appellant had integrated into Switzerland and there were no serious grounds for revocation.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the revocation of the settlement permit in consideration of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Swiss Constitution. It found that the constitutional provision of Art. 121 para. 3-6 Cst. was not directly applicable, as it was not formulated clearly enough and was in conflict with other constitutional and international law provisions.
The court applied the ECHR's practice and examined the proportionality of the revocation of the settlement permit. It found that the appellant had integrated into Switzerland and there were no serious grounds for revocation. The revocation of the settlement…