Swiss Constitution

Growth and Development

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The Old Confederation
• Switzerland is the product of a process of unification which
commenced in 1291 and was completed by 1848.
• Prior to 1291, Switzerland was only a number of separate
Cantons which neither had a central nor coordinating authority.
• (The Swiss Confederation consists of 20 cantons and 6 half
cantons: Under the Federal Constitution, all 26 cantons are equal
in status. Each canton has its own constitution, and its own
parliament, government and courts)
• In 1291, three Cantons, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwarden
constituted a Confederation in order to safeguard their ancient
liberties and assert their independence from the Austrian
domination.
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Contd.
• by 1353, 8 Cantons joined the Confederation.
• The number of members of the Swiss Confederation rose to
13 by 1648.
• The Treaty of Westphalia recognised it as a sovereign State.
• The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties
signed between May and October 1648 in Osnabrück and
Münster.
• These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in
the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War (1568–
1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain
formally recognizing the independence of the Dutch Republic.
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Contd.

• The Peace of Westphalia established a new system of

political order in central Eurocept of sovereign states,
which became known as Westphalian sovereignty.
• A norm was established against interference in another
state's domestic affairs.
• Inter-state aggression was to be held in check by a
balance of power.
• The negotiations also established the precedent of
peace's established by diplomatic congress, with a total
of 109 delegations represented in Westphalia.
• ForAs European influence
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spread across the globe, these 4
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Helvetic Republic (1798–1803)
• The Old Confederation constituted in 1291 could not stand the
onslaught of the conquering armies of revolutionary France.
• Switzerland ceased to be a Confederation and became a French
Protectorate.
• Henceforth, Switzerland was to be a centralised State.
• The new unitary Constitution was so incompatible with the Swiss
traditions of Local Self Government that it entailed wide resentment
and caused grave dissatisfaction amongst the freedom-loving Swiss.
• Hence, in 1803, through the Act of Mediation, Napoleon was forced to
restore the autonomy of the Cantons constituting the Helvetic
Republic (1798–1803).
• With the fall of Napoleon, the Helvetic Republic also came to an end.
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Contd.
• The Old Confederation was revived, though in a modified form, through
a Federal pact which was given recognition by the Congress of Vienna.
• The French suzerainty however, proved to be a blessing in disguise.
Between 1798 and 1815, the foundations of modern Switzerland were
laid.
• Six more Cantons were added to the thirteen already existing Cantons
by the Act of Mediation. In 1815, three more French-speaking Cantons
were added, thus giving to Switzerland its present configuration.
• During this period, the trilingual status of the country was recognised.
• The confederation was thus a union of twenty-one5 small sovereign states – cantons – getting together to, in the words of
Article 1 of the 1815 Federal Treaty,‘defend their freedom and independence from any foreign attack as well as preserving
internal order and peace’

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Contd.
• Between 1815 and 1848 there commenced a regular tussle
between centrifugal and centripetal forces.
• The former stood for greater unification and centralisation, whereas
the latter advocated maximum autonomy for the Cantons.
• These two antagonistic forces represented by Radicals and
Federalists, respectively, clashed openly in 1847, when seven
Catholic Cantons attempted to break away from the Confederation
by forming a separate league—the “Sunderband”.
• A Civil War between the secessionists and the radicals resulted in
the defeat of the former. Hence, a new constitutional project was
drawn up.
• It became the organic law of Switzerland in 1848.
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The Constitution of 1848
• A Diet Committee of fourteen drafted the Constitution of 1848
which after approval by the Diet was submitted to referendum
and was ratified by an overwhelming majority of the Cantons and
the people.
• Thus, the Confederation was converted into a Federal State.
• Though it seemed to be a step of substantial importance yet it
was purely a compromise arrangement.
• The Cantons were granted sovereignty so far as their sovereignty
was not limited by the Federal Constitution.
• The Constitution of 1848 made provision for Bicameral Federal
Assembly, the Collegial Executive, Referendum, Initiative,
Common Citizenship and Federal Tribunal.
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The 1848 settlement
• The 1848 constitution represented a compromise settlement between the vision of the radicals and
the need to keep the old Sonderbund cantons on board.
• It set up a federal state in which the cantons retained ample autonomy in many areas of policy-
making under the ‘residual powers’ clause of Art. 3. In formal constitutional terms, the shift from a
confederation of states to a federal state was far from unambiguous.
• On the one hand, the first article of the constitution cited as the constituting body of the new state
‘the peoples of the twenty-two sovereign cantons’, with no mention of a single Swiss demos.
• Moreover, no explicit supremacy clause of federal law over cantonal law was written into the
constitution.
• On the other hand, the preamble made explicit reference to the ‘unity, force and honour of the
Swiss nation’ and Art. 3 clearly stated that cantons were sovereign only insofar their sovereignty
was not limited by the federal constitution which, of course, really meant that they had lost their
sovereignty.

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The Constitution of 1874
The Constitution of 1848 lasted for 26 years only.
• The tendency towards greater centralisation became more
pronounced although the Federalists still pleaded for social
and municipal privileges of the Cantons.
• The Radicalists advocated the abolition of such rights and
privileges.
• They stood for inalienable rights and liberties for the Swiss
under the protection of a unified and centralised law.
• The Radicals were backed by a considerable majority of the
population.
• Thus, the Constitution of 1848 necessitated the revision.
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Contd.

• The Federal Assembly framed the new Constitution and

referred it to the people for their approval.
• It was adopted by a thumping majority of the Swiss
citizens and came into operation on May 29, 1874.
• The revised Constitution carried centralisation still farther
by providing for the nationalisation of railway under
Federal ownership and vesting more powers with the
centre.
• Moreover, the powers of the Federal Tribunal were
considerably enhanced.
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Federal Constitution of the
Swiss Confederation of 1999
• Although the Constitution of 1874 was quite a rigid Constitution and the
proposals for its complete revision were rejected, yet there have been
quite numerous (about 150) partial revisions, vast majority of which
enhanced the Central Government.
• In view of the numerous amendments, since 1874, it was felt desirable to
integrate the accumulated amendments into a new text. The new text
was adopted by the Federal Parliament on December 18, 1998, and
adopted by a Referendum on April 18, 1999.
• The Parliament issued the Enforcement Decree on September 28, 1999
and the new Constitution came into force on January 1, 2000.
• Thus, Switzerland entered the new millennium with a new legal
foundation. However, the new Constitution does not radically change the
structure of the Swiss Federation as envisaged in the 1874 Constitution.

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Contd.
• the new version was approved by popular and cantonal vote on
18 April 1999.
• It came into force on 1 January 2000.
• The 2000 Constitution of Switzerland consists of Preamble and 6
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.
• Most notable to an outside observer was the abatement of the
restriction on the Swiss neutrality, which allowed the country to
become a full member of the United Nations in 2002.
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Sources:
• ‘World Constitutions: A Comparative Study’ by Vishnoo
Bhagwan, Vidya Bhushan and Vandana Mohla
• ‘Select Constitutions’ by A.C. Kapoor and K.K. Mishra
• ‘Select World Constitutions’ by J. C. Johari
• ‘Select Constitution of the World’ by M.V. Pylee
• The Politics and Government of Switzerland by Clive H.
Church

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