{"id":1933,"date":"2026-10-18T14:46:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T12:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sentinelegal.ch\/?p=1933"},"modified":"2026-10-18T14:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T12:49:09","slug":"pre-trial-detention-geneva-arrested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sentinelegal.ch\/en\/pre-trial-detention-geneva-arrested\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrested in Geneva: How Long Can Pre-Trial Detention Last, and What Can You Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In short.<\/strong> In Geneva, a person arrested by the police must be released or brought before the Public Prosecutor within 24 hours. If the prosecutor wants to keep them in custody, he must apply to the Compulsory Measures Court no later than 48 hours after the arrest, and the court rules within the following 48 hours. At most four days, then, before a judge decides. Pre-trial detention requires strong suspicion and a concrete risk of flight, collusion or reoffending, and it must give way to a lighter measure if that is enough. Family members can help gather what is needed to propose one.<\/p>\n

A call early in the morning, or a silence that goes on too long. Your son has not come home, your partner’s phone rings out, and then the police tell you there has been an arrest and nothing more. You do not know where they are, for how long, or whom to call.<\/p>\n

This is not a rare situation. On 31 January 2026, Switzerland held 7,119 people in custody, a record according to the Federal Statistical Office, and 31% of them were in pre-trial or security detention. Prisons were 97% full. The rules below apply throughout Switzerland, as the Criminal Procedure Code (CrimPC) is federal. The authorities named are those of Geneva.<\/p>\n

How long can the police hold someone after an arrest?<\/h2>\n

24 hours at most. The person is then released or brought before the Public Prosecutor (art. 219 para. 4 CrimPC). Time spent under an earlier stop counts towards those 24 hours. The French expression garde \u00e0 vue<\/em> is often used, but Swiss law speaks of provisional arrest.<\/p>\n

The police must identify the person, tell them in a language they understand why they are being held, and inform them of their rights (art. 219 para. 1 CrimPC), including the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer (art. 158 para. 1 CrimPC). The lawyer may attend the police interview and ask questions (art. 159 para. 1 CrimPC). The person cannot, however, insist that the interview be postponed to wait for counsel (art. 159 para. 3 CrimPC). The family should therefore contact a lawyer straight away.<\/p>\n

What happens before the prosecutor and the court?<\/h2>\n

The prosecutor questions the person without delay about the suspicion and the grounds for detention, and gathers the evidence that is readily available (art. 224 para. 1 CrimPC). He then either orders release, or applies in writing to the Compulsory Measures Court, within 48 hours of the arrest, for detention or an alternative measure (art. 224 para. 2 and 3 CrimPC).<\/p>\n

The court immediately summons the prosecutor, the arrested person and their lawyer to a closed hearing (art. 225 para. 1 CrimPC). On request, the defence may read the file submitted to the court beforehand (para. 2), which gives it a first view of the file. The court rules at the latest within 48 hours of receiving the application (art. 226 para. 1 CrimPC). If it refuses detention, the person is released at once. If it orders it, it may set a maximum duration or order an alternative measure instead (para. 4 and 5).<\/p>\n

When can someone be remanded in custody?<\/h2>\n

Two conditions must both be met. The person must be strongly suspected of a felony or misdemeanour. And there must be a serious risk that they will abscond, interfere with witnesses or evidence, or seriously and imminently endanger others by committing serious felonies or misdemeanours after earlier offences of the same kind (art. 221 para. 1 CrimPC). Since 1 January 2024, the law also allows detention, exceptionally, of a person strongly suspected of seriously harming someone’s physical, mental or sexual integrity through a serious felony or misdemeanour, where there is a serious and imminent danger of a similar serious felony (para. 1bis).<\/p>\n

Detention may not last longer than the foreseeable custodial sentence (art. 212 para. 3 CrimPC), and must end as soon as its conditions are no longer met or a lighter measure achieves the same purpose (para. 2). At the start of an investigation, the risk of collusion may weigh more, as long as witnesses have not been heard. It tends to weaken as the evidence is secured, so the ground relied on at first deserves to be reviewed at every stage.<\/p>\n

Can detention be avoided? Bail and other alternatives<\/h2>\n

Yes, if a lighter measure is enough. The court must order lighter measures if they achieve the same purpose (art. 237 para. 1 CrimPC). The law lists, among others, a security deposit, surrender of identity documents, house arrest or a ban on going to certain places, regular reporting, an obligation to work, medical treatment and a ban on contacting certain people (para. 2). Electronic tagging may be used to monitor compliance (para. 3).<\/p>\n

Bail, in Swiss terms a security deposit, addresses the risk of flight. The amount depends on the seriousness of the case and the person’s circumstances, and it may be paid in cash or by a guarantee from a bank or insurer established in Switzerland (art. 238 CrimPC). Breaching a measure can lead straight back to detention (art. 237 para. 5 CrimPC).<\/p>\n

What the family can gather within 24 hours, for the lawyer.<\/p>\n