The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; (BV); (Cst.); (Cost.); ) of 18 April 1999 (SR 101) is the third and current federal

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a

federal republic A federal republic is a federation of Federated state, states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means a country that is governed by elected re ...

of 26 cantons (states). The document contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights (including the right to call for popular referendums on federal laws and

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

s), delineates the responsibilities of the cantons and the Confederation and establishes the federal authorities of government. The Constitution was adopted by a referendum on 18 April 1999, in which a majority of the people and the cantons voted in favour. It replaced the prior federal constitution of 1874, which it was intended to bring up to date without changing its substance.

History

Prior to 1798, the Swiss Confederacy was a

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

of independent states, not a federal state; as such it was based on treaties rather than a constitution. The Helvetic Republic of 1798–1803 had a constitution largely drawn up by Peter Ochs, in 1803 replaced by the Act of Mediation, which was in turn replaced by the Federal Treaty of 1815, which restored the Confederacy, while the individual cantons drew up cantonal constitutions, in most respects based on the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

'' of the

18th century The 18th century lasted from 1 January 1701 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to ch ...

, but with notable liberal innovations in the constitutions of the new cantons of St. Gallen,

Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most nort ...

, Thurgau,

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. The new cantonal constitutions in many cases served as precedents for the later federal constitution. Following the French

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

in 1830, a number of large assemblies were held calling for new cantonal constitutions. The modifications to the cantonal constitutions made during this period of " Regeneration" remains the basis of the current-day cantonal constitutions. Vaud introduced the legislative

popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite o ...

in 1846. Berne introduced the legislative

optional referendum The optional referendum is a referendum which comes from a request by governmental authorities or the public. The best known types of optional referendums is the popular initiative to request a law, and the popular (or abrogative) referendum ...

in the same year. The political crisis of the Regeneration period culminated in the Sonderbund War of November 1847. As a result of the Sonderbund War, Switzerland was transformed into a federal state, with a constitution promulgated on 12 September 1848. This constitution provided for the cantons' sovereignty, as long as this did not impinge on the Federal Constitution. The creation of a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

assembly was consciously inspired by the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

, the National Council and Council of States corresponding to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, respectively. In a partial revision of 1891, the " right of initiative" was introduced, under which a certain number of voters could make a request to amend a constitutional article, or even to introduce a new article into the constitution. This mechanism is called federal popular initiative. Thus, partial revisions of the constitution could – from this time onward – be made at any time. Twelve such changes were made in the period of 1893 to 1994 (with no changes during the thirty-year period of 1950–1980):bk.admin.ch
/ref> *20 August 1893: prohibition of schechita without anesthetization *5 July 1908: prohibition of absinthe *13 October 1918:

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

in the Swiss National Council *21 March 1920: prohibition of

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

gambling *30 January 1921:

mandatory referendum A mandatory referendum, also known as an obligatory referendum, is a referendum that is legally required to be held under specific circumstances. This is in contrast to an optional referendum, which comes from either by public or legislative ...

on international treaties signed by Switzerland *2 December 1928: exemptions on the ban on casinos *11 September 1949: provisions for the

procedure *28 November 1982: provisions against overpricing *6 December 1987: protection of

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

(against the proposed Rothenthurm military training area) *23 September 1990: moratorium on

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

s *26 September 1993: Swiss National Day *20 February 1994: protection of the Alpine landscape (limitations on trans-alpine traffic) The Federal Constitution was wholly revised for the second time in the 1990s, when the new version was approved by popular and cantonal vote on 18 April 1999. It came into force on 1 January 2000. The 1999 Constitution of Switzerland consists of a preamble and six parts, which together make up 196 articles. It provides an explicit provision for nine fundamental rights, which up until then had only been discussed and debated in the Federal Court. It also provides for greater details in tax laws. The Constitution of 1999 has been changed by popular initiative ten times in the period of 2002 to 2014, as follows: *3 March 2002: accession to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

*8 February 2004: indefinite confinement of dangerous sexual offenders *27 November 2005: restrictions on the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture *30 November 2008: abolition of the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse *29 November 2009: prohibition of minarets * 28 November 2010: deportation of convicted foreign citizens *11 March 2012: limitation on building permits for holiday homes * 3 March 2013: provisions for the right of shareholders in Swiss public companies to determine executive pay * 9 February 2014: principle of immigration quotas *8 May 2014: prohibition of convicted child sex offenders from working with minors

Constitutional provisions

Preamble and Title 1 General Provisions

The

preamble A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...

and the first title of the Constitution determine the general outlines of

as a democratic

of 26 cantons governed by the

rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

. The preamble opens with a solemn invocation of God in continuance of Swiss constitutional tradition. It is a mandate to the State authorities by the Swiss people and cantons, as the Confederation's constituent powers, to adhere to the values listed in the preamble, which include "

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

and

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

and

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

and

openness Openness is an overarching concept that is characterized by an emphasis on transparency and collaboration. That is, openness refers to "accessibility of knowledge, technology and other resources; the transparency of action; the permeability of or ...

towards the world". The latter provision about the "openness" present a drastic contrast with the previous Swiss constitutions which were mostly oriented toward the internal isolationism. The new preamble also provides a provision about responsibility before and the rights of the future generations of the people of Switzerland. The general provisions contained in Title 1 (articles 1–6) define the characteristic traits of the Swiss state on all of its three levels of authority: federal, cantonal and municipal. They contain an enumeration of the constituent cantons, affirm cantonal

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

within the bounds of the Constitution and list the national languages – German, French, Italian and Romansh. They also commit the state to the principles of obedience to law, proportionality,

good faith In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which i ...

and respect for

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, an explicit claim for subsidiarity, before closing with a reference to individual responsibility.

Title 2 Fundamental Rights, Citizenship and Social Goals

Title 2 contains the Constitution's bill of rights and consists of 35 articles. The 1874 constitution contained only a limited number of fundamental rights, and some of them grew less significant as the 20th century wore on, such as the right to a decent

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

guaranteed in article 53 of the old constitution. In consequence, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court's extensive case law developed an array of implicit or "unwritten" fundamental rights, drawing upon the case law of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

and applying the fundamental rights guaranteed in the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

(ECHR), which Switzerland ratified in 1974. In the course of the 1999 constitutional revision, the Federal Assembly decided to codify that case law in the form of a comprehensive bill of rights, which is substantially congruent with the rights guaranteed in the ECHR, the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

and the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom ...

. Title 2 also covers the essential rules on the acquisition of Swiss citizenship and of the exercise of political rights. Furthermore, it contains a number of not directly enforceable "social goals" which the state shall strive to ensure, including the availability of

social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

and

housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

. Title 2 refers to Swiss people as "women and men of Switzerland" as a sign of acknowledging gender discrimination in the past (Switzerland became the second to last country in Europe that granted, in 1971, suffrage to women). The new Constitution also eliminated some archaisms of the old Constitution, such as the tax upon bride moving into bridegroom's house, prohibition on cantons to have military forces of more than 300 people, the mandate for cantons to provide each other with military assistance, and the prohibition of absinthe.

Title 3 Confederation, Cantons and Communes

Title 3 describes in the first chapter the relationships between the Confederation, the cantons and the communes. The cantons retain their own constitutions, but in the case of contradiction the Federal Constitution prevails. The second chapter declares the federal power about areas that require uniform regulation, such as relations with foreign states, security, national and civil defence, general aspects about education, research, culture, the aspects about environment and spatial planning, public construction works and transport, energy and communications, economy in general, concerns about housing, employment, social security and health, about the rights of residence and settlement of foreign nationals, and finally about the responsibility regarding the civil and criminal law, weights and measures. The third chapter clarifies general financial aspects, in particular taxation.

Title 4 The People and the Cantons

Title 4 clarifies fundamental political rights and in particular the rights for initiatives and referendums.

Title 5 Federal Authorities

Title 5 regulates the function and responsibilities of the Federal Government. It provides for three branches of the government represented by three bodies: the Federal Assembly (two chambers, representing the Legislative power), Federal Council (the Executive power), and the Federal Court (the Judicial power). The main differences compared to the previous constitution deal with the supervisory activity of the Federal Court of the Federal Legislature.

Title 6 Revision of the Federal Constitution and Transitional Provisions

Title 6 regulates the revisions of the Federal Constitution as well as transitional provisions.

References

Bibliography

* . Cited as ''Ehrenzeller''. *

External links

* Authoritativ
German
an

as well as non-authoritativ

an

texts of Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 (SR 101) {{Authority control Federal Constitution Federal Constitution 1848 establishments in Switzerland 1999 establishments in Switzerland April 1999 in Europe 1999 documents 1999 in politics Federalism in Switzerland