Facts
The case concerns a woman, X., who married a foreign national, Y., in 1988. Y. left Switzerland in 1993 due to ongoing criminal proceedings against him and thus lost his residence permit. He returned to Switzerland in 1994 and lived with his wife without reporting to the competent authorities. X. was accused of facilitating her husband's illegal stay in Switzerland and of not reporting him to the authorities.
The cantonal courts convicted X. for violating the law on foreigners, in particular for facilitating her husband's illegal stay. X.'s defense argued that she was not required to report her husband to the authorities because she was living with him in a shared household.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of whether X. was required to report her husband to the authorities under the law on foreigners. The Court considered that Article 2, paragraph 2, of the law on foreigners (RSFNA) requires anyone housing a foreigner to report them to the authorities, but that this obligation does not apply to spouses living in a shared household.
The Court also examined the question of whether X. had facilitated her husband's illegal stay in Switzerland. The Court considered that living in a shared household with her…