A well-functioning Just Culture means that safety-relevant incidents can be fully reported without hesitation. This reporting is important because it means that when an incident occurs, everyone involved learns from it and similar incidents can be avoided in future as effectively as possible.
Owing to the present the legal situation in Switzerland, there is an area of tension between the "law" and "safety" systems.
For the first time ever, an air traffic controller in Switzerland who had reported an incident in line with Just Culture principles has been convicted (BGer 6B_1220/2018). In wake of this judgment, employees are now reticent about making such reports. If we receive fewer incident reports, we will no longer be able to identify weaknesses and improve
the system.
The legal handling of the "Just Culture" must be revised in Switzerland to ensure safety in aviation and all other safety-relevant areas. At the same time, however, we are explicitly not demanding any immunity from prosecution.
The Just Culture Platform is committed to anchoring the "Just Culture" concept in Swiss law, to promote safety in aviation and other safety-relevant fields such as medicine.
Anchoring the "Just Culture" principle in Swiss law is crucial to safety in aviation