Details

The primary focus of the IEC is on a study of the history of administrative detention in Switzerland prior to 1981, including an analysis from the perspective of the victims and other persons affected by that policy, and a review of the conduct of the responsible authorities. In addition, the Commission will also consider the use of administrative detention in relation to other compulsory measures and custody arrangements before 1981 (in particular, the use of children as indentured labourers, their placement in families or homes for boarding or foster care, the treatment of itinerant labourers, compulsory sterilisation and castration, and forced adoptions).

The Process
The IEC is made up of an expert commission and an interdisciplinary research team (historians, jurists, psychiatrists, social scientists, social anthropologists, political scientists). It conducted its investigation by archival research and oral history interviews. During three years the researchers studied the history of the use of administrative detention in Switzerland.

The scientific research will be published in a series of monographs. Furthermore, the Commission will publish a synthesis report about the most important research findings. All these publications will also be available as pdf-files for downloading from the website for free.

Governing Legislation
The inquiry was constituted by the Federal Act on Investigation of the Use of Compulsory Welfare Measures and Custody Arrangements prior to 1981 (SR 211.223.13), entered into effect on 1 April 2017, replacing the Federal Act of 21 March 2014 on the Rehabilitation of Administrative Detainees (SR 211.223.12).

Governing Authority
The inquiry was set up by the Swiss Federal Council.

Inquiry Locations
The inquiry had offices in Bern, Switzerland. The research in the archives and the oral history interviews took place in the whole country.

Private Sessions
The IEC held oral history-interviews with 55 victims and 12 representatives from government and institutions for research purposes.

Research
The commission is an Independent Expert Commission, mandated by the Swiss Federal Council to investigate and document the use of administrative detention in Switzerland up to the year 1981. The Commission engaged an interdisciplinary research team (historians, jurists, social scientists, social anthropologists, political scientists) that carried out the investigation.

Roundtable Discussions
The Commission is in constant dialogue with victims of the administrative detention, both individually and on the occasion of official encounters. The IEC held several public forums and group discussions, such as the preliminary findings workshop (18 January 2017), a first "World Café" (24 October 2016), a second "World Café" (2 November 2017). Altogether about 210 people participated at these forums.

Witnesses
67 people gave evidence in the oral history interviews. This included 55 number of victims/survivors and 12 representatives from government and institutions. Written sources by or about more witnesses appear in the archives (personal dossiers). The IEC is also in constant dialogue with persons who were affected by administrative detentions or other compulsory measures and custody arrangements and who are witnesses, too.

Institutions
Several institutions were examined in detail by different research fields. For more information see research programme or research design, as well as the interactive visualisations of the surveyed data about the institutions in Switzerland.

Cost
Budget of CHF 9.9 million

Related Inquiries
A number of publications have already been written concerning the practice of administrative detention. For the most part, they tend to focus on events in individual cantons or institutions. This tendency has been maintained in a number of recent studies commissioned, in particular, by cantonal authorities. Those studies provide a valuable basis for more comprehensive research.

Inquiry Panel

• Gasser, Jacques
• Gnädinger, Beat
• Gschwend, Lukas
• Hauss, Gisela
• Huonker, Thomas
• Lengwiler, Martin
• Praz, Anne-Françoise
• Seglias, Loretta