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According to the court, the man should now receive a Swiss passport. (symbolic image)
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A man from the canton of Aargau has won in court against the refusal of his naturalization. The administrative court concludes that the municipality acted unlawfully - and speaks of arbitrariness.
The Aargau Administrative Court has upheld the appeal of a Kosovan citizen who had been refused citizenship by his commune of residence. The cantonal council had previously supported this decision - wrongly, as the court now states.
The matter was referred back to the municipal council with the clear instruction to grant him municipal citizenship. In the court's view, the man fulfills all legal requirements.
The core of the criticism concerns the naturalization interview, as the "Aargauer Zeitung" writes on Friday. According to the court, the naturalization commission asked numerous questions that should not have been asked at all. Since 2014, civic knowledge of Switzerland and the canton has been tested in Aargau with a cantonal test before the application is submitted.
Despite passing the test, the man was questioned again on federal and cantonal issues. The court found that a total of 23 out of 48 questions were inadmissible. In addition, the interview was inadequately recorded and the assessment was partially incorrect.
The ruling is particularly clear when it comes to the legal classification: the commission had decided "in an arbitrary manner". Anyone who was born and raised in Switzerland, works here and is not guilty of anything significant is generally considered to be familiar with the local living conditions.
This presumption may only be deviated from if there is clear evidence to the contrary. No such evidence was apparent in the present case.
The municipal council of the affected municipality - Birr - is "astonished and shocked". Municipal mayor Barbara Gloor told the "Aargauer Zeitung" that the commission had followed the cantonal handbook and tried to examine the integration comprehensively.
Gloor is convinced that the ruling will change naturalization practice in the canton. The handbook needs to be revised. The decision is not yet legally binding and an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court is being considered.
