Switzerland
Switzerland in Europe
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Outline of the Country´s Legal System
According to the work "Guide to Foreign and International Citations", by the Journal of International Law and Politics (New York University School of Law): "The Swiss Constitution of 1874 was revised in 1998 and entered into force January 1, 2000. Executive power is vested in the Government, which consists of the President, Vice-President and Federal Council (Conseil Federal, Consiglio Federale, or Bundesrat). The President is both the head of state and head of the Government. Members of the Federal Council are elected by the Federal Assembly, usually from among its own members, to a four-year term. The President and Vice President are elected by the Federal Assembly from among the members of the Federal Council to concurrent, one-year terms. Legislative power is vested in the bicameral Federal Assembly (Assemblee Federale, Assemblea Federale, or Bundesversammlung), which consists of the Council of States (Conseil des Etats, Consiglio degli Stati, or Standerat) and the National Council (Conseil National, Consiglio Nazionale, or Nationalrat). The 46 Members of the Council of States (two of whom represent each full Canton and one of whom represents each half Canton) are directly elected by the people in each Canton. The 200 Members of the National Council are directly elected by the people on the basis of proportional representation. Members of both houses serve for four-year terms. The two houses of the Federal Assembly have equal powers in all respects, including the right to introduce legislation. All laws (except the budget) can be reviewed by popular referendum before taking effect. Judicial power is vested in the courts. The only regular federal court is the Federal Tribunal (Tribunal Fédéral, Tribunal Federal or Bundesgericht), which consists of thirty fulltime judges and thirty part-time judges, all of whom are elected by the Federal Parliament to sixyear terms. The Federal Tribunal is a court of limited jurisdiction. Its principal function is to hear appeals from civil and criminal decisions of the Canton courts. It has authority to review cantonal court decisions involving federal law and certain administrative rulings of federal departments, but it has no power to review legislation for constitutionality. All lower courts are organized within and by the Cantons. The Cantons are sovereign subject to limitations by the Constitution; they can exercise all rights which, according to the Constitution, are not transferred to the Confederation. The Cantons are thus in a position to define the tasks which they shall accomplish within the framework of their powers. The Municipalities are autonomous within the limits fixed by cantonal law. Accordingly, federal law takes precedence over conflicting cantonal law, and cantonal law takes precedence over conflicting municipal law. The authorities within each Canton basically mirror the federal authorities in structure and assessment of powers. In every canton, executive power is vested in a collegiate body, generally called the Council of State (Conseil d’Etat, Consiglio di Stato, or Regierungsrat). Each Canton also has a unicameral legislative body, generally called the Great Council (Grand Conseil, Gran Consiglio, or Kantonsrat)." Online Resources:
Federal Confederation Authorities: admin.ch
Official Collection of Federal Law: admin.ch/ch/d/as/index.html
Systematic Collection of Federal Law: admin.ch/ch/d/sr/sr.html.
Federal Supreme Court: bger.ch/
Description of Switzerland
The Concise Publication of the European Union describes switzerland in the following terms: [1] Switzerland has its own ways of doing things. Known for its banking secrecy, its neutrality, its unique confederate system of cantonal government, its attachment to direct democracy and its reluctance to join supranational bodies (it is still not a member of the UN and only joined the Council of Europe in 1963 and the World Bank and the IMF in 1992), Switzerland has long stood aloof from the EC. It was, however, a founder member of EFTA and in 1992, as the single market gained momentum and Austria, Sweden, Finland and Norwayopened negotiations to join the EU (as the EC was now becoming), Switzerland also applied, simultaneously signing the EEA treaty which would link EFTA to the Union.
At this point, the traditional Swiss sense of separate identity reasserted itself and at the end of 1992 just over half the electorate and some three-quarters of the cantons rejected the EEA by referendum, thereby effectively shelvingSwitzerland's application for membership of the Eu (see more in this European publication). The country has a host of bilateral economic arrangements with the Community, but its determination to protect its own interests was evidenced in 1994 when it voted to ban EU trucks from using Alpine roads. Nevertheless, in 1999 Ruth Dreifuss, the president by rotation, announced a renewed desire by the government to join the Eu (see more in this European publication). This would require a double majority (of the cantons and the voters) in a referendum- no easy feat, given the Euroscepticism of the German-speaking Swiss, who account for nearly two-thirds of the population and an even higher proportion (19 out of 26) of the cantons. In the parliamentary elections of October 1999 the once neglected Swiss People's Party, running on a nationalist platform, emerged with a vastly increased share of the vote (see more in this European publication). Business, too, showed itself cooler, and more divided, on the merits of the EU than had been supposed. Thus despite the support of the French-speaking 20% of the population, the government seemed unlikely to realise its wishes.
Switzerland's antipathy to centralised power is reflected in its constitution, which recognises four official languages and vests sovereignty in the cantons except in areas specifically entrusted to the federal government. Europeanists fantasise that the country's accession to the EU would enable it to 'teachEurope lessons' about the defence of cultural diversity. But in reality the Swiss devolved model is the antithesis of the integrationist system of the Community. Nor has the economy suffered from the country's independence (see more in this European publication). The Swiss franc has for many years been the strongest currency in Europe and Switzerland shares with Norway, that other notable non-member of the EU, the distinction of being the most prosperous major country on the Continent.
Resources
Notas y References
Based on the book "A Concise Publication of the European Union from Aachen to Zollverein", by Rodney Leach (Profile Books; London)
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