The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held on Tuesday that Switzerland’s expulsion of a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina violated the European Convention on Human Rights. The individual in question had been expelled and barred from Switzerland for five years after he was convicted of a drug-related offense.

Switzerland was specifically accused of violating Article 8 of the convention, which details the right to privacy and family life. The applicant claimed that the expulsion disproportionately affected his family life. He had behaved as a model citizen with stable employment after conviction, and the crime itself had been an isolated incident. His wife, born in Switzerland, and their children, would not be able to integrate with Bosnian society. Moreover, separating them from their father would be detrimental to family life. However, the applicant’s appeal was dismissed by the Swiss Federal Court in June 2020, on grounds of prioritizing public interests and protecting public safety, given the nature of the crime.

ECHR ruled that as evidenced by the applicant’s good behavior following his conviction, he did not pose a threat to public safety. Keeping this in mind, the court ruled that the five-year expulsion had a disproportionate effect on the applicant’s family, and the sentence did not balance individual and public interests, given that there was no major threat to the public interest to begin with. It further ordered Switzerland to pay 25,000 euros in damages.

Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to share a close relationship with Switzerland. This is further strengthened by the large diaspora residing in Switzerland, with approximately two percent of Switzerland’s foreign-origin population belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina.