Switzerland

V

Government

Switzerland is a republic governed under a constitution adopted on May 29, 1874, and amended many times since. The Swiss political system combines direct and indirect democracy with the principles of sovereignty of the people, separation of powers, and proportional representation. In federal elections, all citizens aged 18 or older are eligible to vote; women gained suffrage in national elections as recently as 1971, through a referendum. The electorate not only chooses its representatives but also decides important issues by means of referenda, an integral part of Swiss government. Constitutional amendments may be initiated by a petition of 50,000 voters and must be ratified by referenda. Federal legislation may also be made subject to referenda.

A

Executive and Legislature

In Switzerland, executive power is vested in a Federal Council, or Bundesrat, of seven members who are elected to four-year terms by a joint session of the bicameral parliament. The council is responsible to the parliament. The legislature elects a president from among the members of the council for a one-year term. The constitution expressly prohibits the re-election of a president to consecutive terms of office.

The Swiss parliament, called the Federal Assembly, consists of two houses: the Council of States, (Ständerat/Conseil des États), with 46 members elected for four-year terms, and the National Council (Nationalrat/Conseil National), with 200 members elected for four-year terms under a system of proportional representation.

B

Judiciary

The federal tribunal at Lausanne is composed of 38 judges who are appointed for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly. The court has final jurisdiction in suits between the cantonal and federal governments, corporations and individuals, and between cantons. It has original jurisdiction only in cases involving offences against the confederation. In addition, each canton has its own autonomous system of justice, including civil and criminal courts and a court of appeals. Capital punishment was abolished in Switzerland in 1942.

C

Political Parties

At the most recent general election of October 2007 the strongest Swiss political parties were the Swiss People’s Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Free (Liberal) Democratic Party, the Christian Democratic People’s Party, the Greens, the Liberal Party, the Green Liberal Party, the Evangelical People’s Party, and the Federal Democratic Union.

D

Local Government

All powers not delegated to the confederation by the Swiss constitution are reserved to the cantons. The forms of cantonal government vary, but each of the 20 cantons and 6 half-cantons has an elected legislative council and an executive council. In the smaller cantons, the council is a Landsgemeinde, a general assembly of voting citizens who decide matters by voice vote. In most cantons, however, the legislative council is a representative body elected by popular vote.

Women gained the right to vote in local and cantonal elections in most areas during the 1970s; the last male bastion, Appenzell, Inner-Rhoden, fell in 1990. The commune is the basic unit of local government; Switzerland has more than 3,000 communes in all, and they are largely autonomous in many governmental matters. Several communes are grouped into a district, which is headed by a prefect representing the cantonal government.