Swiss Federal

Constitution

The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; German: Bundesverfassung der
Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); French: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); It alian:
Costituzione federale della Confederazione Svizzera (Cost.); Romansh:
Constituziun federala da la Confederaziun svizra ⓘ)[3] of 18 April 1999 (SR 101)[4] is t he t hird and current
federal const it ut ion of Swit zerland.

Memorial page to mark the revision of

the federal constitution of 1874,
featuring the motto " Einer für alle, alle
für einen" ("One for all, all for one").

It est ablishes t he Swiss Confederat ion as a federal republic of 26 cant ons (st at es). The document cont ains a
cat alogue of individual and popular right s (including t he right t o call for popular referendums on federal laws and
const it ut ional amendment s), delineat es t he responsibilit ies of t he cant ons and t he Confederat ion and
est ablishes t he federal aut horit ies of government .
The Const it ut ion was adopt ed by a referendum on 18 April
1999, in which a majorit y of t he people and t he cant ons vot ed
in favour. It replaced t he prior federal const it ut ion of 1874,
Swiss Federal
which it was int ended t o bring up t o dat e wit hout changing it s
subst ance.
Constitution

History
Prior t o 1798, t he Swiss Confederacy was a confederat ion of
independent st at es, not a federal st at e; as such it was based
on t reat ies rat her t han a const it ut ion. The Helvet ic Republic
of 1798–1803 had a const it ut ion largely drawn up by Pet er
Ochs, in 1803 replaced by t he Act of Mediat ion, which was in
t urn replaced by t he Federal Treat y of 1815, which rest ored
t he Confederacy, while t he individual cant ons drew up
cant onal const it ut ions, in most respect s based on t he Ancien
Régime of t he 18t h cent ury, but wit h not able liberal
Cover of the German
innovat ions in t he const it ut ions of t he new cant ons of St .
Gallen, Aargau, Thurgau, Ticino, Vaud and Geneva. The new
version
cant onal const it ut ions in many cases served as precedent s
for t he lat er federal const it ut ion.[5] Overview
Following t he French July Revolut ion in 1830, a number of
large assemblies were held calling for new cant onal Jurisdiction Switzerl
[6]
const it ut ions. The modificat ions t o t he cant onal
const it ut ions made during t his period of "Regenerat ion"
remains t he basis of t he current -day cant onal const it ut ions. Date effective 1
Vaud int roduced t he legislat ive popular init iat ive in 1846.
Berne int roduced t he legislat ive opt ional referendum in t he Janua
same year.[7]
2000
The polit ical crisis of t he Regenerat ion period culminat ed in
t he Sonderbund War of November 1847. As a result of t he
Sonderbund War, Swit zerland was t ransformed int o a federal System Federal
st at e, wit h a const it ut ion promulgat ed on 12 Sept ember
1848. This const it ut ion provided for t he cant ons' sovereignt y, assembly-
as long as t his did not impinge on t he Federal Const it ut ion.
The creat ion of a bicameral assembly was consciously independent[
inspired by t he Unit ed St at es Const it ut ion, t he Nat ional
Council and Council of St at es corresponding t o t he House of
Represent at ives and Senat e, respect ively.[8] directorial
In a part ial revision of 1891, t he "right of init iat ive" was republic unde
int roduced, under which a cert ain number of vot ers could
make a request t o amend a const it ut ional art icle, or even t o semi-direct
int roduce a new art icle int o t he const it ut ion. This mechanism
is called federal popular init iat ive. Thus, part ial revisions of t he democracy
const it ut ion could – from t his t ime onward – be made at any
t ime.
Government
Twelve such changes were made in t he period of 1893 t o
1994 (wit h no changes during t he t hirt y-year period of 1950– structure
[9]
1980):

Branches Three
20 August 1893:
prohibition of schechita Chambers Two

without anesthetization (upper:

Council
5 July 1908: prohibition
of
of absinthe States;
13 October 1918: lower:
proportional National
representation in the Council)

Swiss National Council Executive Federal

Council
21 March 1920:
prohibition of casino
gambling Judiciary Federal

30 January 1921: Supreme

Court
mandatory referendum
on international treaties Federalism Yes

signed by Switzerland Supersedes Federal

Constitu
2 December 1928:
of 1874
exemptions on the ban
on casinos
11 September 1949: provisions for the optional
referendum procedure
28 November 1982: provisions against
overpricing
6 December 1987: protection of wetlands
(against the proposed Rothenthurm military
training area)
23 September 1990: moratorium on nuclear
power plants
 26 September 1993: Swiss National Day
20 February 1994: protection of the Alpine
landscape (limitations on trans-alpine traffic)
The Federal Const it ut ion was wholly revised for t he second t ime in t he 1990s, when t he new version was
approved by popular and cant onal vot e on 18 April 1999. It came int o force on 1 January 2000. The 1999
Const it ut ion of Swit zerland consist s of a preamble and six part s, which t oget her make up 196 art icles.[3]

It provides an explicit provision for nine fundament al right s, which up unt il t hen had only been discussed and
debat ed in t he Federal Court . It also provides for great er det ails in t ax laws. The Const it ut ion of 1999 has been
changed by popular init iat ive t en t imes in t he period of 2002 t o 2014, as follows:[9]

3 March 2002: accession to the United Nations

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 and t he first t it le of t he Const it ut ion det ermine t he general out lines of Swit zerland as a
democrat ic federal republic of 26 cant ons governed by t he rule of law.

The preamble opens wit h a solemn invocat ion of God in cont inuance of Swiss const it ut ional t radit ion. It is a
mandat e t o t he St at e aut horit ies by t he Swiss people and cant ons, as t he Confederat ion's const it uent powers,
t o adhere t o t he values list ed in t he preamble, which include "libert y and democracy, independence and peace in
solidarit y and openness t owards t he world". The lat t er provision about t he "openness" present a drast ic cont rast
wit h t he previous Swiss const it ut ions which were most ly orient ed t oward t he int ernal isolat ionism. The new
preamble also provides a provision about responsibilit y before and t he right s of t he fut ure generat ions of t he
people of Swit zerland.
The general provisions cont ained in Tit le 1 (art icles 1–6) define t he charact erist ic t rait s of t he Swiss st at e on all
of it s t hree levels of aut horit y: federal, cant onal and municipal. They cont ain an enumerat ion of t he const it uent
cant ons, affirm cant onal sovereignt y wit hin t he bounds of t he Const it ut ion and list t he nat ional languages –
German, French, It alian and Romansh. They also commit t he st at e t o t he principles of obedience t o law,
proport ionalit y, good fait h and respect for int ernat ional law, an explicit claim for subsidiarit y, before closing wit h
a reference t o individual responsibilit y.

Title 2 Fundamental Rights, Citizenship and

Social Goals
Tit le 2 cont ains t he Const it ut ion's bill of right s and consist s of 35 art icles. The 1874 const it ut ion cont ained only
a limit ed number of fundament al right s, and some of t hem grew less significant as t he 20t h cent ury wore on,
such as t he right t o a decent burial guarant eed in art icle 53 of t he old const it ut ion. In consequence, t he Swiss
Federal Supreme Court 's ext ensive case law developed an array of implicit or "unwrit t en" fundament al right s,
drawing upon t he case law of t he European Court of Human Right s and applying t he fundament al right s
guarant eed in t he European Convent ion on Human Right s (ECHR), which Swit zerland rat ified in 1974.

In t he course of t he 1999 const it ut ional revision, t he Federal Assembly decided t o codify t hat case law in t he
form of a comprehensive bill of right s, which is subst ant ially congruent wit h t he right s guarant eed in t he ECHR,
t he Universal Declarat ion of Human Right s and t he Int ernat ional Covenant on Civil and Polit ical Right s.

Tit le 2 also covers t he essent ial rules on t he acquisit ion of Swiss cit izenship and of t he exercise of polit ical
right s. Furt hermore, it cont ains a number of not direct ly enforceable "social goals" which t he st at e shall st rive t o
ensure, including t he availabilit y of social securit y, healt h care and housing.

Tit le 2 refers t o Swiss people as "women and men of Swit zerland" as a sign of acknowledging gender
discriminat ion in t he past (Swit zerland became t he second t o last count ry in Europe t hat grant ed, in 1971,
suffrage t o women). The new Const it ut ion also eliminat ed some archaisms of t he old Const it ut ion, such as t he
t ax upon bride moving int o bridegroom's house, prohibit ion on cant ons t o have milit ary forces of more t han 300
people, t he mandat e for cant ons t o provide each ot her wit h milit ary assist ance, and t he prohibit ion of absint he.
Title 3 Confederation, Cantons and
Communes
Tit le 3 describes in t he first chapt er t he relat ionships bet ween t he Confederat ion, t he cant ons and t he
communes. The cant ons ret ain t heir own const it ut ions, but in t he case of cont radict ion t he Federal Const it ut ion
prevails.

The second chapt er declares t he federal power about areas t hat require uniform regulat ion, such as relat ions
wit h foreign st at es, securit y, nat ional and civil defence, general aspect s about educat ion, research, cult ure, t he
aspect s about environment and spat ial planning, public const ruct ion works and t ransport , energy and
communicat ions, economy in general, concerns about housing, employment , social securit y and healt h, about t he
right s of residence and set t lement of foreign nat ionals, and finally about t he responsibilit y regarding t he civil and
criminal law, weight s and measures.

The t hird chapt er clarifies general financial aspect s, in part icular t axat ion.

Title 4 The People and the Cantons

Tit le 4 clarifies fundament al polit ical right s and in part icular t he right s for init iat ives and referendums.

Title 5 Federal Authorities

Tit le 5 regulat es t he funct ion and responsibilit ies of t he Federal Government . It provides for t hree branches of
t he government represent ed by t hree bodies: t he Federal Assembly (t wo chambers, represent ing t he Legislat ive
power), Federal Council (t he Execut ive power), and t he Federal Court (t he Judicial power). The main differences
compared t o t he previous const it ut ion deal wit h t he supervisory act ivit y of t he Federal Court of t he Federal
Legislat ure.
Title 6 Revision of the Federal Constitution
and Transitional Provisions
Tit le 6 regulat es t he revisions of t he Federal Const it ut ion as well as t ransit ional provisions.

See also

Swiss law
Schubert Jurisprudence

Switzerland as a federal state

Special Provisions
Referendum
Voting in Switzerland

References

1. Shugart, Matthew Søberg (December 2005). "Semi-

Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed
Authority Patterns" (https://doi.org/10.1057%2Fpal
 grave.fp.8200087) . French Politics. 3 (3): 323–
351. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087 (https://doi.
org/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.fp.8200087) .
S2CID 73642272 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/
CorpusID:73642272) .

2. Elgie, Robert (2016). "Government Systems, Party

Politics, and Institutional Engineering in the Round".
Insight Turkey. 18 (4): 79–92. ISSN 1302-177X (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/issn/1302-177X) .
JSTOR 26300453 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/26
300453) .

3. "SR 10 Bundesverfassung" (https://www.admin.ch/

opc/de/classified-compilation/10.html) (official
website) (in German, French, and Italian). Berne,
Switzerland. 10 September 2016. Retrieved
14 September 2016.
4. "SR 101 Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen
Eidgenossenschaft" (https://www.admin.ch/opc/d
e/classified-compilation/19995395/index.html)
(official website) (in German, French, and Italian).
Berne, Switzerland. 1 January 2016. Retrieved
14 September 2016. "English is not an official
language of the Swiss Confederation. This
translation is provided for information purposes
only and has no legal force."

5. A. Kölz: Kantonsverfassungen in German (http://ww

w.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D10234.php) , French (h
ttp://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F10234.php)
and Italian (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I10
234.php) in the online Historical Dictionary of
Switzerland, 2014.
6. Volkstage in German (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/te
xtes/d/D41665.php) , French (http://www.hls-dhs-d
ss.ch/textes/f/F41665.php) and Italian (http://ww
w.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I41665.php) in the
online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

7. A. Kölz: Kantonsverfassungen in German (http://ww

w.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D10234.php) , French (h
ttp://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F10234.php)
and Italian (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I10
234.php) in the online Historical Dictionary of
Switzerland, 2014.

8. Kley (2011): "Das Parlament wurde als Folge eines

Kompromisses zwischen Zentralisten und
Föderalisten nach amerikan. Vorbild als
Zweikammersystem ausgestaltet"

9. bk.admin.ch (https://www.bk.admin.ch/ch/d/pore/v
i/vis_2_2_5_8.html)
Bibliography

Bernhard Ehrenzeller, Philipp Mastronardi,

Rainer J. Schweizer, Klaus A. Vallender (eds.)
(2002). Die schweizerische Bundesverfassung,
Kommentar (in German). ISBN 3-905455-70-6.
{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name
(help). Cited as Ehrenzeller.
Andreas Kley: Federal Constitution in German (h
ttp://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D9811.ph
p) , French (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/
f/F9811.php) and Italian (http://www.hls-dhs-d
ss.ch/textes/i/I9811.php) in the online
Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 3 May 2011.
 External links

Authoritative German (http://www.admin.ch/ch/

d/sr/c101.html) , French (http://www.admin.c
h/ch/f/rs/c101.html) and Italian (http://www.a
dmin.ch/ch/i/rs/c101.html) as well as non-
authoritative Romansh (https://www.admin.ch/
opc/rm/classified-compilation/19995395/inde
x.html) and English (https://www.admin.ch/op
c/en/classified-compilation/19995395/index.ht
ml) texts of Federal Constitution of the Swiss
Confederation of 18 April 1999 (SR 101)

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