Reduction of LAVI Compensation for Relatives Residing Abroad: The Federal Supreme Court Sets the Boundaries
The case concerned the children of a woman who was the victim of a homicide. The authorities in the Canton of Vaud acknowledged their entitlement to compensation for moral damages. However, the amounts granted were reduced for three of them residing abroad: by 65% for one living in Poland and by 30% for two others residing in Spain, based on Article 27 paragraph 3 of the Victim Support Act (LAVI). This provision allows for a reduction in compensation when the beneficiary lives abroad and the cost of living in their country of residence makes the moral reparation disproportionate.
In this context, the Federal Supreme Court reiterated that victim support is an act of societal solidarity towards victims and that it is therefore fair to consider a lower cost of living when the recipient resides outside Switzerland. Thus, only a sufficiently significant difference in living costs can justify such a reduction—particularly when applying standard calculation methods would result in disproportionately high compensation for foreign-based beneficiaries compared to those living in Switzerland.
However, the Court emphasized that such a reduction must remain the exception and should not be applied automatically or mechanically. The Court reaffirmed the need for a nuanced assessment, taking into account the actual extent of the cost-of-living difference (based on objective criteria such as official wage indices or consumer price indices), as well as the beneficiary’s personal ties to Switzerland.
In earlier rulings 1C_106/2008 (24 September 2008) and 6B_58/2016 (18 August 2016), the Federal Court had found that the cost-of-living differences between Switzerland and Portugal, and between Switzerland and Spain, were not sufficiently pronounced to warrant any reduction.
In the case of Poland, however, the Court held that a 65% reduction solely based on the cost-of-living difference was overly formulaic and could not be upheld. Nevertheless, it did accept the principle of a reduction and limited it to 20% for the appellant residing in Poland, in line with ruling 6B_531/2019 of 20 June 2019.
This decision further clarifies the scope of Article 27 paragraph 3 LAVI and strengthens the protection of victims’ relatives, even when they live outside Switzerland.
Written by Me Kaltrina Fazliu