Swiss Border Guard
Border Guard Corps (French: Corps des gardes-frontière, German: Grenzwachtkorps, Italian: Corpo delle guardie di confine) are a federal law enforcement agency, which acts as both the border guard and customs service for Switzerland. It is a uniformed section of the Federal Customs Administration, which is attached to the Federal Department of Finance. It is the largest civilian security agency on a federal level. It's members are subjected to military criminal law.
The Border Guard Corps (BGC) is the federal administrations instrument for:
- Prevention, intervention and repression, concerning customs and migration related matters.
- Enforcing border security and national compensating measures under the schengen treaty.
- Participation in international missions of the European Border Agency (Frontex).
Tasks
The BGC controls people and merchandise crossing the Swiss border, while combating smuggling and trans-border crime. The BGC also participates in international missions. Furthermore, the BGC supplies agents to the Federal Department of Police, who are tasked to prevent incidents on board of aircrafts and at airports (Ground- and Airmarshals). In its entirety, the BGC is tasked with enforcing over 150 national laws.
In essence, the BGC works within the same realm as the civilian customs authorities of Switzerland, with both sides cooperating on a regular basis.
The BGC has thre strategic areas of work:
- Customs related duties.
- Security and policing duties.
- Migration related duties.
These strategic areas fall within the BGCs original legal framework. However, customs related duties are heavily prioritised and customs law is relied upon to fulfil all additional duties. Additionally, the cantons of Switzerland can and have delegated additional competences to the BGC.
References
External links
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