Federal Court President Ulrich Meyer made disparaging remarks about a judge at the Federal Criminal Court (TPF) on the sidelines of an investigation into accusations of mobbing and sexism at the Bellinzona court. He regretted this incident.
German-language television SRF released an audio recording on Wednesday evening in which Ulrich Meyer made these remarks in the absence of the applicant. The woman “stammers”, has “a poisonous look” and is “anorexic”, says the 66-year-old Bernese, who still says “not being able to look at her for more than two seconds”.
In a statement, the Federal Court stated that Ulrich Meyer made these remarks in a private circle and that he regretted them. The socialist magistrate apologizes to the judge concerned. In an interview published Wednesday evening on the websites of Tamedia’s German newspapers, Ulrich Meyer said that no one ever makes a mistake, which also applies to him.
At the end of a hearing
The controversial remarks were exchanged at the end of the hearing of another federal judge, when this one had already left the room. They were recorded involuntarily, while the entire session had been recorded for later transcription. It is unclear who forwarded the tape to the SRF.
The Administrative Commission (CA) of the Federal Court, of which Judge Meyer is a member, had investigated suspected dysfunctions within the TPF earlier this year. Press articles had reported notably on power struggles, favoritism, excessive spending, mobbing and sexism.
In its April report, the CA concluded that there had been a number of questionable incidents in the past. She recommended to the plenary assembly of the TPF to end working relations with the secretary general of the court.
Created: 10.06.2020, 22h49
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