Stephan Aeschbacher will step down as president of the court in 2022

Stephan Aeschbacher from Geroldswiler has presided over the Dietikon District Court since it was founded in 2008. It’s over next April.

—

Stephan Aeschbacher has submitted his resignation as district judge and court president of the Dietikon district court. He will resign on April 30, 2022 – ten days after his 63rd birthday. So it’s an early retirement.

Elected for the first time in 2007, then confirmed twice

Aeschbacher justified his decision to resign with the fact that the time had come to place the presidium in younger hands. “To be able to quit two years before the normal retirement age, free from external pressure and health constraints, is a privilege for which I am very grateful,” says Aeschbacher. Last but not least, the privilege was made possible by the people – they elected SP member Aeschbacher in autumn 2007 and quietly confirmed it in 2013 and 2019.

The first ever President of the Dietiker Court

Aeschbacher has a title that has never existed a second time: He is the first court president of the Dietikon district court. The Dietikon district was split off from the Zurich district on July 1, 1989. But for years the District Court of Zurich decided about right and wrong – until the District Court of Dietikon was founded on July 1, 2008. This was initially housed in the Zurich District Court until it was able to move into its own premises in the district building on Dietiker Bahnhofplatz in 2010.

–

Concrete construction is known beyond the region, as one or the other case has already been dealt with here that interested the whole nation. Like the case of prison guard Angela Magdici (now Kiko), who made it possible for her lover Hassan Kiko to escape from Limmattal prison in 2016.

–

Aeschbacher and his fellow judges sentenced them to 15 months’ imprisonment in 2017. When he looks back, it is clear to him:

“Of all my cases, this case attracted the greatest public interest – but that does not mean that it was the most demanding from a legal point of view,” says Aeschbacher.

If he looks back further, it becomes clear what development he witnessed in the courtroom:

“In my early days, the minutes were still dictated on a film device, only to be typed out on the typewriter afterwards. That is surely the biggest change that I have gone through. “

In addition, there were legal changes that have made the jurisprudence more demanding. “Today, judgments have to be justified in much more detail,” says Aeschbacher. He estimated that he has passed a four-digit number of judgments in his career.

The Dietikon District Court employs a total of 35 people

After completing his studies in 1983, the usual legal positions followed, for example from 1985 to 1989 he was an auditor and legal secretary at the Zurich District Court. In 1988 he was admitted to the bar and from 1990 to 1997 he was a full-time substitute judge at the Zurich District Court before becoming a full district judge in 1997. In 2002 he became head of the fourth department of the Zurich District Court and then in 2008 the District Judge and President of the Dietikon District Court, which today employs 35 people.

–

His successor must be a “professionally and personally recognized personality” who meets the requirements of the office – “regardless of party affiliation,” says Aeschbacher.

Also involved outside the courtroom

As an early retiree, Aeschbacher wants above all to enjoy the additional freedom. But not only:

“Maybe I will be active in the charitable sector or I will be available as a part-time substitute judge for individual cases.”

Aeschbacher has already proven that he can get involved in a variety of ways. Among other things, he was President of the cantonal examination commission for debt enforcement officers from 2008 to 2017 and from 1999 to 2008 he was active as a local councilor for Geroldswil. Growing up in Thurgau, he moved to the village in 1986 after a stopover in Zurich.

–

–