Federal Administrative Court rules False figures on party donations are subject to public disclosure law

False figures on political financing are subject to the principle of public disclosure. This is the conclusion reached by the Federal Administrative Court in two recent rulings. The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) now wants to examine them.

Keystone-SDA

08.05.2026, 12:29

08.05.2026, 13:13

SDA

There was a dispute because the SFAO has to publish incorrect figures on political financing, but is not allowed to draw attention to them. The SFAO found that the current law does not provide a sufficient basis for publishing the results of material audits, for example at the request of media representatives.

It therefore rejected two corresponding requests in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. However, the SFAO welcomed the judicial clarification of this issue. This is now available. According to the rulings of the Federal Administrative Court published on Friday, documents on political financing are subject to the principle of public disclosure.

This was first reported by the "Beobachter", which had taken the case to court together with the research collective WAV. The research magazine spoke of "a stage victory towards genuine transparency".

(Judgments A-6253/2024 and A-6279/2024 of May 1, 2026)