Naked Rambling in Switzerland

Switzerland's Supreme Court has dealt a blow to naked hikers as it sided with an eastern canton that fined a man for strolling unclothed through the mountains.

The court was far from unanimous, with a verdict eventually reached by three votes to two. Ultimately though, the Supreme Court ruled that the decision by canton Appenzell-Ausserrhoden to ban naked hillwalking was not unconstitutional.

It is not arbitrary [on the canton's behalf] to consider naked hiking in public a gross breach of decency and convention, the court said.

The case began in Appenzell-Ausserrhoden in October 2009 when Local authorities fined a naked hiker 100 francs ($109), but the naturist refused to pay.

His case was heard by the cantonal court in Appenzell in May 2010. He admitted he had been hiking without clothes, a practice he said he had indulged in for two years, but denied he had been acting indecently. The judge acquitted him, arguing that the case was beyond the canton's jurisdiction since the Swiss Penal Code regulates all crimes involving sexual integrity.

But the prosecutor decided to take the case to the court of appeals, which disagreed with the acquittal, concluding it was the duty of the local authorities to uphold public morality and ordering the man to pay 200 francs ($218) for indecent behaviour. It was this ruling that prompted the hiker to take the case to the Supreme Court.

A court in Switzerland has upheld the appeal of a man who was fined for rambling naked.

The court in Trogen ruled that the naked hiking did not amount to indecent behaviour .

The case was the first since the eastern Swiss canton of Appenzell allowed naked hikers to be fined. Appenzell has become a popular destination for those who like to hike without clothes, but some locals are unhappy about the trend.

The hiker in question was fined 100 Swiss francs (70 euros, £60) after eyewitnesses complained that he had been hiking in full view of a communal barbecuing area. They also say he walked past a Christian care home, whose residents saw him.

Swiss federal law states that public nudity is not a crime.

When the first nude walkers came over the border the tranquil, neutrality-loving Swiss tried to pretend it wasn’t happening.

Now the Swiss authorities are trying to fend off hordes of German ramblers dressed in nothing more than a rucksack and walking boots. The influx appears to have been started after a German mountaineering website declared the Swiss wilderness a paradise for naked ramblers.

We have been receiving many complaints, Markus D๖rig, a spokesman for the government of the Appenzell Innerrhoden canton, told The Times. The local people are upset and we in the government share their concern. How would one feel if one was to go walking in nature and suddenly came across a group of naked people?

When police in the eastern Appenzeller region arrested a group of German nudists they had to apologise and let them go as there was no law against rambling in one’s birthday suit.

Swiss legislators have spent the winter trying to find a solution and now they are ready to act. A law stipulating that naked walking is a crime is expected to be enacted this spring. A fine will leave nude ramblers ฃ120 out of pocket — providing they have any — or facing further legal action if they are unable to pay on the spot.

The Bill will be approved by the local parliament on February 9 and should come into force on April 26, when the canton’s citizens gather at the Appenzell town square for an annual vote on legal amendments.

Germany, where freik๖rperkultur — free body culture — is a respectable pastime, is aghast. The tabloid Bild Zeitung wrote a sniffy editorial about Swiss intolerance and listed nudist alternatives around the world, hinting at a boycott of Switzerland as a tourist destination.