Published on 14 July 2022

National Security

The protection of Switzerland is one of the central missions of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG). In a complex international environment, it aims to safeguard the country’s sovereignty, security, and democratic institutions against serious threats. The OAG intervenes whenever there is suspicion of offenses that could jeopardise Switzerland’s fundamental interests.

The OAG’s National Security field of crime is responsible for investigating and prosecuting offenses that directly threaten the country’s institutional stability, neutrality, or sovereignty. Pursuant to Art. 23 and 24 CrimPC, it often handles complex and politically sensitive proceedings that are of high security relevance.

The areas concerned include, in particular, espionage offenses, breach of official secrecy, and corruption offenses involving federal officials. The OAG also takes priority action in cases of civil aviation accidents, offenses related to counterfeit currency and explosives, illegal trade in war materials and strategic goods, threats against magistrates, as well as acts of violence or threats against authorities and officials.

Criminal proceedings related to explosive attacks on ATMs in recent years have shown that links exist between different cases and alleged perpetrators. A key goal of the investigations conducted by the OAG in collaboration with fedpol is therefore to identify criminal networks in order to combat the phenomenon as effectively as possible in its entirety. In this context, the OAG opened, for the first time in 2024, criminal proceedings for violation of Art. 260^ter SCC (criminal and terrorist organizations).

Handling proceedings within the National Security field of crime requires close cooperation with police authorities, intelligence services, and national and international judicial partners. Through this commitment, the OAG ensures that any serious threat to the country’s security and institutions is addressed in a coherent and independent manner, in accordance with the rule of law.