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- Art. 5a FC
- Art. 6 FC
- Art. 10 FC
- Art. 16 FC
- Art. 17 FC
- Art. 20 FC
- Art. 22 FC
- Art. 29a FC
- Art. 30 FC
- Art. 32 FC
- Art. 42 FC
- Art. 43 FC
- Art. 43a FC
- Art. 55 FC
- Art. 56 FC
- Art. 60 FC
- Art. 68 FC
- Art. 75b FC
- Art. 77 FC
- Art. 96 para. 2 lit. a FC
- Art. 110 FC
- Art. 117a FC
- Art. 118 FC
- Art. 123b FC
- Art. 136 FC
- Art. 166 FC
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- Art. 11 CO
- Art. 12 CO
- Art. 50 CO
- Art. 51 CO
- Art. 84 CO
- Art. 143 CO
- Art. 144 CO
- Art. 145 CO
- Art. 146 CO
- Art. 147 CO
- Art. 148 CO
- Art. 149 CO
- Art. 150 CO
- Art. 701 CO
- Art. 715 CO
- Art. 715a CO
- Art. 734f CO
- Art. 785 CO
- Art. 786 CO
- Art. 787 CO
- Art. 788 CO
- Transitional provisions to the revision of the Stock Corporation Act of June 19, 2020
- Art. 808c CO
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- Art. 2 PRA
- Art. 3 PRA
- Art. 4 PRA
- Art. 6 PRA
- Art. 10 PRA
- Art. 10a PRA
- Art. 11 PRA
- Art. 12 PRA
- Art. 13 PRA
- Art. 14 PRA
- Art. 15 PRA
- Art. 16 PRA
- Art. 17 PRA
- Art. 19 PRA
- Art. 20 PRA
- Art. 21 PRA
- Art. 22 PRA
- Art. 23 PRA
- Art. 24 PRA
- Art. 25 PRA
- Art. 26 PRA
- Art. 27 PRA
- Art. 29 PRA
- Art. 30 PRA
- Art. 31 PRA
- Art. 32 PRA
- Art. 32a PRA
- Art. 33 PRA
- Art. 34 PRA
- Art. 35 PRA
- Art. 36 PRA
- Art. 37 PRA
- Art. 38 PRA
- Art. 39 PRA
- Art. 40 PRA
- Art. 41 PRA
- Art. 42 PRA
- Art. 43 PRA
- Art. 44 PRA
- Art. 45 PRA
- Art. 46 PRA
- Art. 47 PRA
- Art. 48 PRA
- Art. 49 PRA
- Art. 50 PRA
- Art. 51 PRA
- Art. 52 PRA
- Art. 53 PRA
- Art. 54 PRA
- Art. 55 PRA
- Art. 56 PRA
- Art. 57 PRA
- Art. 58 PRA
- Art. 59a PRA
- Art. 59b PRA
- Art. 59c PRA
- Art. 62 PRA
- Art. 63 PRA
- Art. 67 PRA
- Art. 67a PRA
- Art. 67b PRA
- Art. 75 PRA
- Art. 75a PRA
- Art. 76 PRA
- Art. 76a PRA
- Art. 90 PRA
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- Vorb. zu Art. 1 FADP
- Art. 1 FADP
- Art. 2 FADP
- Art. 3 FADP
- Art. 5 lit. f und g FADP
- Art. 6 Abs. 6 and 7 FADP
- Art. 7 FADP
- Art. 10 FADP
- Art. 11 FADP
- Art. 12 FADP
- Art. 14 FADP
- Art. 15 FADP
- Art. 19 FADP
- Art. 20 FADP
- Art. 22 FADP
- Art. 23 FADP
- Art. 25 FADP
- Art. 26 FADP
- Art. 27 FADP
- Art. 31 para. 2 lit. e FADP
- Art. 33 FADP
- Art. 34 FADP
- Art. 35 FADP
- Art. 38 FADP
- Art. 39 FADP
- Art. 40 FADP
- Art. 41 FADP
- Art. 42 FADP
- Art. 43 FADP
- Art. 44 FADP
- Art. 44a FADP
- Art. 45 FADP
- Art. 46 FADP
- Art. 47 FADP
- Art. 47a FADP
- Art. 48 FADP
- Art. 49 FADP
- Art. 50 FADP
- Art. 51 FADP
- Art. 54 FADP
- Art. 57 FADP
- Art. 58 FADP
- Art. 60 FADP
- Art. 61 FADP
- Art. 62 FADP
- Art. 63 FADP
- Art. 64 FADP
- Art. 65 FADP
- Art. 66 FADP
- Art. 67 FADP
- Art. 69 FADP
- Art. 72 FADP
- Art. 72a 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 of origin
- II. Significance of the provision
- III. Commentary on the text of the standard
- Bibliography
- Materials
I. History of origin
1 While the PRA has expressly provided for the Federal Council to order the vote for mandatory referendums since its introduction (Art. 58 PRA), a corresponding provision for the optional referendum was included in the PRA with the amendment of 21.6.1996. It enshrined the practice that had been taken for granted until then. The reorganization of the procedure for optional referendums in 1996 provided an opportunity to complete the legal provisions.
II. Significance of the provision
A. General
2 Art. 59c gives the Federal Council the power, but also the duty, to order a vote on enactments against which an optional referendum has been held. Holding a referendum is a complex process in which numerous actors are involved. While the federal, cantonal and communal authorities prepare and conduct the referendum (Art. 10 para. 2 PRA), political parties, interest groups, the media and, last but not least, the voters themselves are involved in forming public opinion and reaching a decision. The arrangement of the referendum creates binding force and predictability for all those involved.
3 Which proposals are put to the vote on which date is politically relevant and can be controversial under certain circumstances, as the timing and combination of proposals can potentially influence opinion-forming and mobilization. The order is therefore not a matter for an administrative authority, but for the Federal Council as the supreme executive and implementing authority (Art. 174 FC). The competence of the Federal Council is already laid down in Art. 10 para. 1bis PRA. Which parameters are decisive for the determination of voting proposals is commented on elsewhere.
4 While Art. 10 PRA lays down the basis for ordering referendums, the special provisions on the individual direct-democratic institutions oblige the Federal Council to order the referendum: Art. 58 regulates this for the mandatory referendum, Art. 59c for the optional referendum and Art. 75a PRA for the popular initiative.
B. Comparison of laws
5 In the cantons, the government is also responsible for holding the referendum. It orders the referendum if the optional referendum has been held.
6 Unlike the federal government, some cantons have special deadlines within which the vote on a referendum decree must be held if an optional referendum is held. The canton of Fribourg, for example, stipulates that the referendum must be held within 180 days of the announcement of its existence in the official gazette. In the canton of Basel-Stadt, the referendum must be held no later than one year after the resolution has been passed by the Grand Council, and in the cantons of Vaud and Neuchâtel, the State Council must put the referendum proposal to a popular vote within six months of the expiry of the referendum deadline.
III. Commentary on the text of the standard
A. Procedure for ordering the referendum
1. Responsibilities
7 Art. 59c regulates the duty of the Federal Council to order a referendum on an enactment if the Federal Chancellery has determined that an optional referendum has been held. The order is issued at the request of the Federal Chancellery. Pursuant to Art. 3 para. 1 VPR, the Federal Chancellery must take the measures required by law to ensure that federal referendums can be held. The Federal Chancellery informs the Federal Council of all proposals that may be put to the vote and proposes a specific "voting menu".
2. Voting proposals and formal arrangement of the popular vote
8 The referendum can only be ordered if a referendum has been held. However, the Federal Council may designate an enactment for a referendum at an earlier date in accordance with Art. 10 para. 1bis PRA. This determination must take place at least four months before the date of the vote, but does not yet correspond to the formal ordering of the referendum. The Federal Council only decides on the order later and at the same time issues a circular letter to the cantonal governments containing instructions on how to prepare and hold the referendum. For example, on 15.2.2023, the Federal Council announced the proposals for the referendum of 18.6.2023 and issued the voting order and the circular letter on 12.4.2023.
3. Voting proposals subject to reservation
9 Voting proposals pursuant to Art. 10 para. 1bis PRA must be determined subject to reservation if the outcome of a referendum has not yet been determined. This procedure comes into consideration if a referendum has just been submitted, if the submission is imminent or, if necessary, if the enactment is due to enter into force on a specific date. A reservation must be removed with the formal order in accordance with Art. 59c. The order should be issued as close in time as possible to the determination of the submissions, but in any case at a time when the preparatory work is not yet too far advanced.
10 For example, the proposals for the referendum on 15.5.2022 were determined subject to reservation because the referendum deadline for all enactments was still running. Once the Federal Chancellery had established that the referendums had been held, the Federal Council formally ordered the vote in mid-March. An impressive example occurred in connection with the referendum of 25.11.2012: on 4.7.2012, i.e. at the last meeting before the session-free period in July/August, the Federal Council placed five proposals under reserve. The referendum deadline for one of the decrees ended on 5.7.2012 (amendment to the Animal Diseases Act) and for the others only on 27.9.2012 (Federal Act on International Withholding Taxation and three federal resolutions on tax agreements); in these four cases, it had only been running for around two weeks. The unusually early determination of the four tax bills was due to the planned entry into force on 1.1.2013. It was already clear that the explanatory notes would have to be produced before the end of the referendum period and that the ballot papers would have to be approved for printing just a few days later. In the end, the referendums did not take place. This led to the strange situation that the ballot paper referred to just one proposal, while the voting brochure explained five proposals. The referendum was only ordered on 11.10.2012, i.e. around six weeks before the voting date, and therefore at a time when the delivery of material to the cantons is usually already complete. The procedure for scheduling the referendum on 25.11.2012 stretched the procedural framework, if not overstretched it. It should not set a precedent.
4. No statutory time limits
11 The law does not specify a deadline for the Federal Council to carry out the vote on a referendum decree. In this respect, the statutory regulation of the procedure differs from that of the popular initiative. For the latter, Art. 75a PRA stipulates the deadline by which the Federal Council must submit the popular initiative to the People and the Cantons. In addition, Art. 165 para. 2 and 3 FC sets out the time frame within which urgent federal acts must be put to a popular vote.
12 According to doctrine, the Federal Council is not completely free to set the date for the vote on an enactment against which an optional referendum has been held. Although the Federal Council is granted discretion, it must hold the vote within a reasonable period of time and may not arbitrarily delay the matter.
B. Exceptions to the obligation to issue an order
13 According to the Federal Council's dispatch, no exceptions should be regulated in Art. 59c. In practice, however, there have been isolated cases in which no vote was ordered. The Federal Council cites one example from the 1950s and one from the 1970s in which the referendum was not held, although a referendum was held in each case. Such exceptions are conceivable if parliament reverts to an adopted resolution.
14 Doctrine and case law consider it permissible for the authority that adopted the decree requiring a referendum to withdraw it if it has become irrelevant due to changed circumstances or if it would be pointless to put it to a referendum for other reasons. The principle applies to both mandatory and optional referendums and is explicitly provided for by law in the canton of Geneva. Political rights are not violated because the withdrawn decree has no legal effect. However, the withdrawal must be based on objective reasons and not merely on considerations of political tactics.
15 If an enactment subject to a referendum is amended before the referendum, the amending enactment is in principle subject to a separate referendum. However, in the case of decrees that are subject to a mandatory referendum, it may be appropriate to only vote on the amended decree. This was the case, for example, in the context of the financial crisis: the Federal Assembly amended the additional funding for disability insurance passed on 13.6.2008 with the federal decree of 12.6.2009 before the referendum on the original decree was held; the people and cantons then only voted on the amended federal decree.
16 From a procedural point of view, it should be noted that the handling of a referendum decree is concluded with its adoption in Parliament. The matter is no longer pending in the Councils and cannot be discussed again. Both the repeal and the amendment of the provisions in the referendum decree must therefore be carried out in a new (legislative) procedure and initiated using the usual parliamentary instruments in accordance with Art. 71 et seq. ParlA must be initiated.
C. Cancellation or postponement of ordered referendums
17 In special situations, the Federal Council may be faced with the question of whether a referendum must be canceled or postponed. The conditions under which this is permissible were discussed in connection with the Covid-19 epidemic after the Federal Council decided on 18.3.2020 not to hold the referendum scheduled for 17.5.2020 and to revoke the decree of 21.2.2020. Canceling an ordered vote was not unprecedented, but it was an unusual procedure.
18 The Federal Council is of the opinion that the power to order a referendum also includes the possibility of revoking the order. In the Confederation, the Federal Council is the supreme executive authority and is responsible for carrying out referendums properly. If the Federal Council is not in a position to do so, it should be able to cancel or postpone the referendum as a last resort. In contrast, doctrine holds the view that the Federal Council's general power of execution is not a sufficient basis and that a special legal basis is required to cancel or postpone a scheduled referendum.
19 In implementation of motion 20.3419, the Federal Council proposed in December 2023 that the cancellation or postponement of an ordered referendum be expressly regulated in the PRA in future. The proposal requires an actual or imminent serious disruption to the formation of the will of those entitled to vote, the casting of votes or the determination of the result in order to be able to postpone or cancel an ordered vote. The referendum should be deemed to have been ordered as soon as the Federal Council has taken the formal decision to order it. As long as the referendum proposals have been determined but the vote has not yet been formally ordered, the hurdles for canceling or postponing it would be somewhat lower - although the announcement of the referendum proposals should already have a considerable politically binding effect.
D. No legal protection against the order
20 The order to hold a referendum is an act of the Federal Council within the meaning of Art. 189 para. 4 FC and cannot be challenged in court.
Thanks to Julien Fiechter and Raphael Casanova for proofreading the article.
Bibliography
Biaggini Giovanni, Kommentar zur Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, 2. Auflage, Zürich 2017 (zit. Biaggini).
Boillet Véronique, Kommentierung zu Art. 58 BPR, in: Glaser Andreas/Braun Binder Nadja/Bisaz Corsin/Tornay Schaller Bénédicte (Hrsg.), Onlinekommentar zum Bundesgesetz über die politischen Rechte, verfügbar unter: https://onlinekommentar.ch/de/kommentare/bpr58, besucht am 30.1.2024.
Braun Binder Nadja/Glaser Andreas, Die Verschiebung von Volkswahlen und Volksabstimmungen, ZBl 122 (2021), S. 591–613 (zit. Braun Binder/Glaser).
Grisel Etienne, Initiative et référendum populaires, 3ème édition, Berne 2004.
Hangartner Yvo/Kley Andreas/Braun Binder Nadja/Glaser Andreas, Die demokratischen Rechte in Bund und Kantonen der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, 2. Auflage, Zürich 2023 (zit. Hangartner/Kley/Braun Binder/Glaser).
Mahon Pascal, Kommentierung zu Art. 10 BPR, in: Glaser Andreas/Braun Binder Nadja/Bisaz Corsin/Tornay Schaller Bénédicte (Hrsg.), Onlinekommentar zum Bundesgesetz über die politischen Rechte, verfügbar unter: https://onlinekommentar.ch/de/kommentare/bpr10, besucht am 30.1.2024.
Materials
Botschaft vom 1.9.1993 des Bundesrates über eine Teiländerung der Bundesgesetzgebung über die politischen Rechte, BBl 1993 III 445, verfügbar unter: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/1993/3_445_405_309/de, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (zit. Botschaft 1993).
Bundeskanzlei, Erläuternder Bericht vom 15.12.2023 zur Eröffnung des Vernehmlassungsverfahrens über Änderungen des Bundesgesetzes über die politischen Rechte und der Verordnung über die politischen Rechte, Vernehmlassung 2023/15, verfügbar unter: https://fedlex.data.admin.ch/eli/dl/proj/2023/15/cons_1, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (zit. Erläuternder Bericht 2023).
Bundeskanzlei, Vorentwurf vom 15.12.2023 der Änderung des Bundesgesetzes über die politischen Rechte, Vernehmlassung 2023/15, verfügbar unter: https://fedlex.data.admin.ch/eli/dl/proj/2023/15/cons_1, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (zit. BPR-Vorentwurf 2023).
Bundesratsbeschluss vom 21.3.2022 zur Volksabstimmung vom 15.5.2022, BBl 2022 666, verfügbar unter: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/2022/666/de, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (zit. BRB vom 21.3.2022).
Bundesratsbeschluss vom 12.4.2023 zur Volksabstimmung vom 18.6.2023, BBl 2023 970, verfügbar unter: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/2023/970/de, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (BRB vom 12.4.2023).
Bundesratsbeschluss vom 11.10.2012 zur Volksabstimmung vom 25.11.2012, BBl 2012 8443, verfügbar unter: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/2012/1478/de, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (zit. BRB vom 11.10.2012).
Medienmitteilung vom 4.7.2012 «Abstimmungsvorlagen für den 25. November 2012», verfügbar unter: https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-45297.html, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (zit. Medienmitteilung vom 4.7.2012).
Medienmitteilung vom 15.1.2020 «Abstimmungsvorlagen für den 17. Mai 2020», verfügbar unter: https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen/bundesrat.msg-id-77779.html, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (zit. Medienmitteilung vom 15.1.2020).
Medienmitteilung vom 12.1.2022 «Abstimmungsvorlagen für den 15. Mai 2022», verfügbar unter: https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-86767.html, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (zit. Medienmitteilung vom 12.1.2022).
Medienmitteilung vom 15.2.2023 «Abstimmungsvorlagen für den 18. Juni 2023», verfügbar unter: https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-93074.html, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (zit. Medienmitteilung vom 15.2.2023).
Kreisschreiben vom 16.11.1951 des Bundesrates an sämtliche Kantonsregierungen betreffend die Verschiebung der Volksabstimmung über den Bundesbeschluss betreffend Verlängerung der Geltungsdauer des Bundesbeschlusses über die Bewilligungspflicht für die Eröffnung und Erweiterung von Gasthöfen, BBl 1951 III S. 711, verfügbar unter: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/1951/3_711__/de, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (KRS 1951).
Kreisschreiben vom 12.4.2023 des Bundesrates an die Kantonsregierungen zur Volksabstimmung vom 18.6.2023, BBl 2023 971, verfügbar unter: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/2023/971/de, zuletzt besucht am 2.2.2024 (KRS 2023).