Swiss Federal Constitution

Swiss Federal Constitution
Cover of the German version
Overview
JurisdictionSwitzerland
Date effective1 January 2000
SystemFederal assembly-independent[1][2] directorial republic under a semi-direct democracy
Government structure
BranchesThree
ChambersTwo (upper: Council of States; lower: National Council)
ExecutiveFederal Council
JudiciaryFederal Supreme Court
FederalismYes
SupersedesFederal Constitution of 1874
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").

The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; German: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); French: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); Italian: Costituzione federale della Confederazione Svizzera (Cost.); Romansh: Constituziun federala da la Confederaziun svizra)[3] of 18 April 1999 (SR 101)[4] is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland.

It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic 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 amendments), 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.

  1. ^ Shugart, Matthew Søberg (December 2005). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns". French Politics. 3 (3): 323–351. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087. S2CID 73642272.
  2. ^ Elgie, Robert (2016). "Government Systems, Party Politics, and Institutional Engineering in the Round". Insight Turkey. 18 (4): 79–92. ISSN 1302-177X. JSTOR 26300453.
  3. ^ "SR 10 Bundesverfassung" (official website) (in German, French, and Italian). Berne, Switzerland. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. ^ "SR 101 Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft" (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.