Top Swiss court rules against prostitution exclusion zone

The Federal Court in Lausanne ruled that a Swiss town went too far in banning prostitution within a 100-metre radius of certain sensitive locations. The provision of the municipal by-law of the town of Lucens in western Switzerland was challenged by a property firm. At a public hearing on Friday, the 2nd Court of Public Law partially upheld the appeal lodged by the company that owned a former old-age home. The company wanted to convert the building into a brothel. The municipality reacted by adopting a bylaw prohibiting this activity in the vicinity of certain places such as food shops, doctors' surgeries, crèches, schools and churches. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox For the majority of judges, the 100-metre radius of prohibition around these places was too large. It results in the exclusion of prostitution from a large part of the municipal territory, which is contrary to the freedom of commerce. This provision of the by-law was therefore annulled. The ...