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- Transitional provisions to the revision of the Stock Corporation Act of June 19, 2020
- Art. 808c CO
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- Art. 5 lit. f und g FADP
- Art. 6 Abs. 6 and 7 FADP
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- Art. 2 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 3 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 4 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 5 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 6 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 7 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 8 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 9 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 11 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 12 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 25 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 29 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 32 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 33 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 34 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
CODE OF OBLIGATIONS
FEDERAL LAW ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
LUGANO CONVENTION
CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE
FEDERAL ACT ON POLITICAL RIGHTS
CIVIL CODE
FEDERAL ACT ON CARTELS AND OTHER RESTRAINTS OF COMPETITION
FEDERAL ACT ON INTERNATIONAL MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS
DEBT ENFORCEMENT AND BANKRUPTCY ACT
FEDERAL ACT ON DATA PROTECTION
SWISS CRIMINAL CODE
CYBERCRIME CONVENTION
I. History and importance of the provision
1The Federal Act on Political Rights was passed in 1976. Its art. 58 LDP has not been amended since then. The Federal Council's message on this provision referred only to constitutional provisions and urgent federal decrees, because the scope of the mandatory referendum was only extended to membership of collective security organizations or supranational communities when the Federal Constitution (Cst.) was revised in 1977.
2Art. 58 LDP is the first provision of Title 4 on referendums. Chapter 1 includes only art. 58 of the LDP, which deals with mandatory referendums. Chapter 2, comprising art. 59a to 67b of the LDP, organizes the optional referendum.
3The practical scope of art. 58 of the LDP is relatively important, since it regulates the organization of votes on all acts of the Federal Assembly subject to mandatory referendum, i.e. between 52 and 69 votes per decade since the LDP came into force.
II. Commentary
4Art. 58 of the LDP refers to acts adopted by the Federal Assembly (A.1.) which are subject to mandatory referendum (A.2.). It stipulates that these acts must be published (B.) and put to the vote (C.). It is necessary to determine more precisely which acts are covered and to define the treatment to which they are subject.
A. Acts adopted by the Federal Assembly subject to mandatory referendum
1. Acts adopted by the Federal Assembly
5The notion of acts adopted by the Federal Assembly must first be understood in the light of art. 163 Cst. feder. According to this provision and the interpretation given to it, these are acts which "the Federal Assembly adopts at the end of its ordinary deliberation procedure (cf. art. 71 ff LParl) and which have effects external to it - with the publication that this implies (cf. art. 2 and 11 LPubl)". These acts may take the following forms: a federal law, an ordinance, a federal decree or a simple federal decree.
6Federal laws and ordinances contain rules of law, i.e. "general and abstract provisions of direct application which create obligations, confer rights or assign powers" (art. 22, para. 4, LParl).
7Important legal provisions take the form of federal laws (art. 164 para. 1 Cst.), while others take the form of ordinances (art. 163 para. 1 Cst.).
8Art. 164 para. 1 Cst. provides a non-exhaustive illustration of the areas deemed important that require the adoption of laws in the formal sense.
9 Acts which do not contain legal rules, i.e. other acts, are classified as simple federal decrees if they are not subject to referendum (art. 163 al. 3 Cst.). They must have been adopted by the two Councils in separate deliberations (art. 156 Cst.).
10 It should be noted that certain federal decrees issued by the Federal Assembly are intended to make matters subject to referendum under the Constitution subject to popular vote (art. 140 and 141 para. 1 let. d Cst.). In such cases, the federal decree acts as an intermediary, giving the electorate the opportunity to vote on constitutional amendments, popular initiatives or international treaties, rather than on the federal decree as such.
11 From a procedural point of view, to be validly qualified as an act of the FA, a draft act must have been the subject of concordant decisions in both Councils, followed by a final vote on the text drawn up by the Drafting Committee (art. 81 LParl and 156 Cst.).
2. Acts subject to mandatory referendum
12 Only certain acts of the Federal Assembly are subject to an optional or mandatory referendum.
13 Art. 58 LDP refers only to acts of the Federal Assembly subject to mandatory referendum, i.e. those listed in art. 140 Cst. These are urgent federal laws with no constitutional basis within the meaning of art. 140 para. 1 let. c Cst. and federal decrees designed to enable a mandatory referendum to be held on the other acts mentioned in art. 140 Cst.
14 The term "referendum" refers to "consultation of the people, or of the people and the cantons, on certain acts adopted by the Federal Assembly". This consultation makes it possible to accept or reject an act, but not to modify its content. It establishes a right of veto.
15 When a referendum is mandatory, it must be organized by the competent authorities. In principle, the effect of a referendum is suspensive: the entry into force of the act put to the vote is conditional on its acceptance. There is one exception to this principle: in the case of urgent legislation, the referendum has a resolutory or repealing effect. As the act put to the vote is already in force, it is repealed if the vote is negative.
16 The acts referred to in para. 2 of art. 140 Cst. require a simple majority of the people (II.A.2.a), those listed in para. 1 require a double majority of the people and cantons (II.A.2.b).
a. Acts subject to mandatory referendum with double majority
17 Three categories of acts are subject to mandatory referendum with a double majority of the people and cantons (cf. art. 142 para. 2 a 4 Cst.) in accordance with art. 140 para. 1 Cst. These are: total or partial revisions of the Federal Constitution (let. a), membership of collective security organizations or supranational communities (let. b) and urgent federal legislation with no constitutional basis and lasting more than one year (let. c).
18 Total or partial revision of the Federal Constitution refers to the vote on a new Constitution drawn up following a popular initiative or on the proposal of an authority (art. 193 and art. 140 para. 1 let. a, Cst.), the vote on a popular initiative for a partial revision of the Constitution in the form of a draft (art. 139 para. 5 Cst.), the vote on a direct counter-proposal to a popular initiative for a partial revision of the Constitution in the form of a draft (art. 139 para. 5 Cst. and art. 101 LParl), the vote on a partial revision of the Constitution requested by the people in the form of a popular initiative in general terms (art. 139 al. 4, art. 156 al. 3 let. b and art. 140 al. 1 let. a, Cst.) or the vote on a partial revision of the Constitution requested by an authority (art. 194 and art. 140 al. 1 let. a Cst.).
19 The question of whether the Federal Assembly can submit acts not covered by art. 140 al. 1 let. b Cst. to a mandatory referendum is controversial. The federal authorities - and the majority of legal writers - seem to accept that international treaties of constitutional importance should be subject to mandatory referendum.
20 In order to clarify this last point, a draft revision of Art. 140 Cst. was drawn up by the Federal Council in response to motion 15.3557 "Compulsory referendum for international treaties of a constitutional nature". The draft provided for the addition of letter bbis to Art. 140 para. 1 Cst., according to which "international treaties that contain provisions of constitutional rank or whose implementation requires an amendment to the Constitution are also subject to a mandatory referendum; provisions of constitutional rank include, in particular, those relating to the catalog of fundamental rights, nationality and citizenship rights, political rights (ch. 1), the relationship between the Confederation and the cantons and the powers of the Confederation (ch. 2), and the broad outlines of the organization and procedures of the federal authorities (ch. 3)". However, the National Council refused to discuss the draft.
21 With regard to the interpretation of the concept of accession to international treaties, the question arose as to whether it also covered treaty amendments and denunciations. The Federal Act of June 21, 2019 on the competence to conclude, amend and terminate international treaties, which came into force on December 2, 2019, clarified the situation: it led to the amendment of the LParl (art. 24 in particular) and the LOGA (art. 7a in particular) to specify that both the conclusion and the amendment and termination of international treaties are subject to referendum.
22 Urgent federal laws with no constitutional basis and lasting more than one year must be put to the vote within one year of their adoption by the Federal Assembly.
23 Art. 141a para. 1 Cst. also allows the necessary constitutional amendments to be incorporated into the federal decree approving an international treaty.
b. Acts subject to mandatory referendum with simple majority
24 Three types of act are subject to mandatory referendum with a simple majority (cf. art. 142 para. 1 Cst.):
popular initiatives for the total revision of the Federal Constitution (Art. 138 and Art. 140 para. 2 let. a, Cst.) ;
popular initiatives conceived in general terms for the partial revision of the Constitution in the event of rejection by the Federal Assembly (art. 139 al. 4 and art. 140 al. 2 let. b Cst.);
the principle of a total revision of the Constitution, in the event of disagreement between the two Councils (art. 140 al. 2 let. c Cst.).
B. Publication
25 Following the final decision of the two Councils (art. 81 LParl and 156 al. 2 Cst.), all acts subject to mandatory referendum are published in the Feuille fédérale (art. 13 al. 1 let. d LPubl and 21 ff OPubl). It should be noted that while the publication of acts subject to optional referendum is regulated by art. 42 para. 6 OPubl, the publication of acts subject to mandatory referendum is not prescribed.
26 The Federal Gazette (FF) is the official information bulletin of the Confederation. In accordance with art. 58 LDP, decrees and laws adopted by the Federal Assembly and subject to mandatory referendum are published in the FF.
C. Voting
27 The Federal Council finally orders the vote (art. 58, 2nd sentence, LDP).
28 In accordance with art. 1 para. 4 of the Ordinance on the Organization of the Federal Chancellery (Org ChF), the Chancellery is responsible for ensuring "that popular rights can be exercised in accordance with the Constitution and the legislation on political rights, and that federal elections and votes are conducted in accordance with the rules". Art. 4 para. 2 let. d Org ChF further specifies that the Federal Chancellery "prepares and executes laws and ordinances relating to political rights".
29 On the basis of these provisions, the Federal Chancellery proposes to the Federal Council the items to be put to the vote. In practice, the aim is to put them to the vote quickly. While the FC must define the subjects for each voting date, respecting certain deadlines (cf. N 30 et seq.) and practical considerations, it nevertheless has political leeway - allowing certain subjects to be grouped together or treated separately. It should also be remembered that, although the FC's decision is not subject to appeal (art. 189 para. 4 Cst.), it must take its decisions in accordance with art. 34 Cst. which protects the faithful and reliable expression of the will of the people.
30 Article 10 para. 1bis of the LDP states that, except in the case of federal laws declared urgent, for which the deadline may be shortened, the FC must announce the subject of the vote at least four months in advance. The purpose of this rule is to ensure that all interest groups have sufficient time to prepare for the voting campaign. According to legal doctrine, postponement is permissible only in exceptional cases, if it is provided for by a specific provision (e.g. art. 6 para. 2 and 7 of the Federal Voting Act in the event of a pandemic), or even on the basis of art. 185 para. 3 of the Federal Constitution. The Federal Council, for its part, considers that postponement or relocation of a popular vote that has already been scheduled must be expressly provided for in the Federal Act on Political Rights. In response to the Rieder motion, the Federal Council has instructed the Federal Chancellery to prepare a draft revision.
31 Specific deadlines must also be observed for popular initiatives in accordance with art. 75a of the Federal Act on Political Rights (these are, however, orderly deadlines, the violation of which entails no consequences):
The FC has ten months from the final vote of the FA to submit an initiative to the vote (paras. 1 and 3);
In the event of conditional withdrawal by the initiative committee, the FC must submit the initiative to the vote within ten months of validation of the negative vote on the indirect counter-proposal (para. 2).
However, an extension of six months is provided for if the deadlines set out in paragraphs 1-3 start between ten and three months before the National Council is fully renewed (paragraph 3bis).
32 In accordance with art. 10 of the LDP, the FC determines the rules for setting voting days. The following Sundays are reserved for popular votes (art. 2a para. 1 of the Federal Ordinance on Political Rights):
the second Sunday in February, in years when Easter Sunday falls after April 10, and the fourth Sunday before Easter in other years;
the third Sunday in May, in years when Pentecost Sunday falls after May 28, and the third Sunday after Pentecost in other years;
the Sunday following the Federal Fast;
the last Sunday in November.
33 Early voting is possible earlier, in accordance with art. 7 of the LDP. Article 8 of the LDP also regulates postal voting, which also allows early voting.
34 It should be noted that, in the event of overriding reasons, the FC may modify or add dates at the proposal of the Federal Chancellery (art. 2a para. 2 ODP), and that no vote is scheduled for September of the year in which the National Council is renewed (art. 2a para. 3 ODP).
35 Finally, it should be noted that votes are organized by the cantons in accordance with art. 10 para. 2 of the LDP. The Federal Chancellery collates the cantonal results and officially announces the results for the whole of Switzerland.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aubert Jean-François, Art. 140 in : Aubert Jean-François/Mahon Pascal (éd.), Petit commentaire de la Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse du 18 avril 1999, Zurich/Bâle/Genève 2003.
Aubert Jean-François, Le référendum populaire, RDS 1972 481-506 (Référendum populaire).
Biaggini Giovanni, Art. 140 et 163 in : Biaggini Giovanni, BV Kommentar, Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, 2ème éd., Zurich 2017.
Braun Binder Nadja/Glaser Andreas, Die Verschiebung von Volkswahlen und Volksabstimmungen, ZBl 122 (2021), p. 591-613.
Caroni Andrea/Kühne Daniela, Das obligatorische Referendum für völkerrechtliche Verträge mit Verfassungscharakter, ZBl 123 (2022), p. 343-368.
Dubey Jacques, Art. 163 in : Martenet Vincent/Dubey Jacques (éd.), Constitution fédérale, Commentaire romand, Bâle 2021.
Epiney Astrid/Diezig Stefan, Art. 140 BV, in : Waldmann Bernhard/Belser Eva Maria/Epiney Astrid (éd.), Bundesverfassung, Basler Kommentar, Bâle 2015.
Hangartner Yvo/Kley Andreas/Braun Binder Nadja/Glaser Andreas, Die demokratischen Rechte in Bund und Kantonen der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, 2ème éd., Zurich 2023.
Häfelin Ulrich/Haller Walter/Keller Helen/Thurnheer Daniela, Schweizerisches Bundesstaatsrecht, 10ème éd, Zurich, 2020.
Message du Conseil fédéral du 20 octobre 2010 sur l’initiative populaire «pour le renforcement des droits populaires dans la politique étrangère», FF 2010 6353.
Message du Conseil fédéral relatif à l'approbation de l'accord sur l'Espace économique européen du 18 mai 1992, FF 1992 IV 1.
Message du Conseil fédéral concernant le référendum en matière de traités internationaux, FF 1974 II 1138.
Message du Conseil fédéral du 23 octobre 1974 concernant de nouvelles dispositions sur le référendum en matière de traités internationaux, FF 1974 II 1133.
Message du Conseil fédéral du 9 avril 1975 concernant une loi fédérale sur les droits politiques, FF 1975 I 1364.
Rhinow René A./Schefer Markus/Uebersax Peter, Schweizerisches Verfassungsrecht, Bâle 2016.
Tornay Schaller Bénédicte, Art. 140 in : Martenet Vincent/Dubey Jacques (éd.), Constitution fédérale, Commentaire romand, Bâle 2021.
Tschannen Pierre, Art. 163 in: Ehrenzeller Bernhard/Schindler, Benjamin/Schweizer, Rainer J./Vallender, Klaus A. (éd.), Die schweizerische Bundesverfassung, St. Galler Kommentar, Zurich 2022.
Thürer Daniel/Diggelmann Olivier, Art. 140 BV, N. 16–31 in : Ehrenzeller Bernhard/Schindler Benjamin/Schweizer Rainer J./Vallender, Klaus A (éd.), Die schweizerische Bundesverfassung, St. Galler Kommentar, 2ème éd., Zurich 2014.
Wyttenbach Judith/Wyss Karl-Marc, Art. 163 in: Waldmann Bernhard/Belser Eva Maria/Epiney Astrid (éd.), Bundesverfassung, Basler Kommentar, Bâle 2015.