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The Confederation and the Cantons shall, as a complement to personal responsibility and private initiative, endeavour to ensure that: |
a. every person has access to social security |
b. every person has access to the health care that they require |
c. families are protected and encouraged as communities of adults and children |
d. every person who is fit to work can earn their living by working under fair conditions |
e. any person seeking accommodation for themselves and their family can find suitable accommodation on reasonable terms |
f. children and young people as well as persons of employable age can obtain an education and undergo basic and advanced training in accordance with their abilities |
g. children and young people are encouraged to develop into independent and socially responsible people and are supported in their social, cultural and political integration and in leading healthy lives. |
The Confederation and Cantons shall endeavour to ensure that every person is protected against the economic consequences of old-age, invalidity, illness, accident, unemployment, maternity, being orphaned and being widowed. |
They shall endeavour to achieve these social objectives within the scope of their constitutional powers and the resources available to them. |
No direct right to state benefits may be established on the basis of these social objectives. |
Relations between the Confederation and the Cantons Section Duties of the Confederation and the Cantons Duties of the Confederation The Confederation shall fulfil the duties that are assigned to it by Federal Constitution. |
The Cantons decide on the duties that they must fulfil within the scope of their powers. |
The Confederation only undertakes tasks that the Cantons are unable to perform or which require uniform regulation by the Confederation. |
The collective body that benefits from a public service bears the costs thereof. |
The collective body that bears the costs of a public service may decide on the nature of that service. |
Universally provided services must made be available to every person in a comparable manner. |
State tasks must be fulfilled economically and in accordance with demand. |
The Confederation and the Cantons shall support each other in the fulfilment of their duties and shall generally cooperate with each other. |
They owe each other a duty of consideration and support. They shall provide each other with administrative assistance and mutual judicial assistance. |
Disputes between Cantons or between Cantons and the Confederation shall wherever possible be resolved by negotiation or mediation. |
In the cases specified by the Federal Constitution, the Cantons shall participate in the federal decision making process, and in particular in the legislative process. |
The Confederation shall inform the Cantons of its intentions fully and in good time. It shall consult the Cantons where their interests are affected. |
The Cantons shall implement federal law in accordance with the Federal Constitution and federal legislation. |
The Confederation and the Cantons may together agree that the Cantons should achieve specific goals in the implementation of federal law and may to this end conduct programmes that receive financial support from the Confederation. |
The Confederation shall allow the Cantons all possible discretion to organise their own affairs and shall take account of cantonal particularities. |
The Confederation shall respect the autonomy of the Cantons. |
It shall leave the Cantons sufficient tasks of their own and respect their organisational autonomy. It shall leave the Cantons with sufficient sources of finance and contribute towards ensuring that they have the financial resources required to fulfil their tasks. |
The Cantons may enter into agreements with each other and establish common organisations and institutions. In particular, they may jointly undertake tasks of regional importance together. |
The Confederation may participate in such organisations or institutions within the scope of its powers. |
Agreements between Cantons must not be contrary to the law, to the interests of the Confederation or to the rights of other Cantons. The Confederation must be notified of such agreements. |
The Cantons may by intercantonal agreement authorise intercantonal bodies to issue legislative provisions that implement an intercantonal agreement, provided the agreement: |
a. has been approved under the same procedure that applies to other legislation |
b. determines the basic content of the provisions. |
The Cantons shall comply with intercantonal law. |
At the request of interested Cantons, the Confederation may declare intercantonal agreements to be generally binding or require Cantons to participate in intercantonal agreements in the following fields: |
a. the execution of criminal penalties and measures |
b. school education in the matters specified in Article paragraph |
c. cantonal institutions of higher education |
d. cultural institutions of supra-regional importance |
e. waste management |
f. waste water treatment |
g. urban transport |
h. advanced medical science and specialist clinics |
i. institutions for the rehabilitation and care of invalids. |
A declaration of general application is made in the form of a federal decree. |
The law shall specify the requirements for a declaration of general application and for a participation requirement and regulate the procedure. |
Federal law takes precedence over any conflicting provision of cantonal law. |
The Confederation shall ensure that the Cantons comply with federal law. |
The autonomy of the communes is guaranteed in accordance with cantonal law. |
The Confederation shall take account in its activities of the possible consequences for the communes. |
In doing so, it shall take account of the special position of the cities and urban areas as well as the mountain regions. |
Each Canton shall adopt a democratic constitution. This requires the approval of the People and must be capable of being revised if the majority of those eligible to vote so request. |
Each cantonal constitution shall require the guarantee of the Confederation. The Confederation shall guarantee a constitution provided it is not contrary to federal law. |
The Confederation shall protect the constitutional order of the Cantons. |
It shall intervene when public order in a Canton is disrupted or under threat and the Canton in question is not able to maintain order alone or with the aid of other Cantons. |
The Confederation shall protect the existence and territory of the Cantons. |
Any change in the number of Cantons requires the consent of the citizens and the Cantons concerned together with the consent of the People and the Cantons. |
Any change in territory between Cantons requires the consent both of the Cantons concerned and of their citizens as well as the approval of the Federal Assembly in the form of a Federal Decree. |
Inter-cantonal boundary adjustments may be made by agreement between the Cantons concerned. |
Foreign relations are the responsibility of the Confederation. |
The Confederation shall ensure that the independence of Switzerland and its welfare is safeguarded it shall in particular assist in the alleviation of need and poverty in the world and promote respect for human rights and democracy, the peaceful co-existence of peoples as well as the conservation of natural resources. |
It shall respect the powers of the Cantons and protect their interests. |
The Cantons shall be consulted on foreign policy decisions that affect their powers or their essential interests. |
The Confederation shall inform the Cantons fully and in good time and shall consult with them. |
The views of the Cantons are of particular importance if their powers are affected. In such cases, the Cantons shall participate in international negotiations in an appropriate manner. |
A Canton may conclude treaties with foreign states on matters that lie within the scope of its powers. |
Such treaties must not conflict with the law or the interests of the Confederation, or with the law of any other Cantons. The Canton must inform the Confederation before concluding such a treaty. |
A Canton may deal directly with lower ranking foreign authorities in other cases, the Confederation shall conduct relations with foreign states on behalf of a Canton. |
The Confederation and the Cantons shall within the scope of their powers ensure the security of the country and the protection of the population. |
They shall coordinate their efforts in the area of internal security. |
Switzerland shall have armed forces. In principle, the armed forces shall be organised as a militia. |
The armed forces serve to prevent war and to maintain peace they defend the country and its population. They shall support the civilian authorities in safeguarding the country against serious threats to internal security and in dealing with exceptional situations. Further duties may be provided for by law. |
The deployment of the armed forces is the responsibility of the Confederation. |
Every Swiss man is required to do military service. Alternative civilian service shall be provided for by law. |
Military service is voluntary for Swiss women. |
Any Swiss man who does not do military or alternative service is liable to pay a tax. This tax is levied by the Confederation and assessed and collected by the Cantons. |
The Confederation shall legislate for fair compensation for loss of income. |
Persons who suffer damage to their health or lose their lives while doing military or alternative civilian service are entitled to appropriate support from the Confederation, whether for themselves or for their next of kin. |
Armed forces legislation, together with the organisation, training and equipment of the armed forces, is the responsibility of the Confederation. |
The Confederation may, in return for appropriate compensation, take over the running of cantonal military installations |
The legislation on the civil defence of persons and property against the effects of armed conflicts is the responsibility of the Confederation. |
The Confederation shall legislate on the deployment of civil defence units in the event of disasters and emergencies. |
It may declare civil defence service to be compulsory for men. For women, such service is voluntary. |
The Confederation shall legislate on fair compensation for loss of income. |
Persons who suffer damage to their health or lose their lives while doing civil defence service are entitled to appropriate support from the Confederation, whether for themselves or for their next of kin. |
The Confederation and the Cantons shall, within the scope of their powers, jointly ensure the high quality and accessibility of the Swiss Education Area. |
They shall coordinate their efforts and ensure their cooperation through joint administrative bodies and other measures. |
They shall ensure in the fulfilment of their duties that general and vocational courses of study achieve equal recognition in society. |
The Cantons are responsible for the system of school education. |
They shall ensure the provision of an adequate basic education that is available to all children. Basic education is mandatory and is managed or supervised by the state. At state schools it is free of charge. |
The Cantons shall ensure that adequate special needs education is provided to all children and young people with disabilities up to the age of |
Where harmonisation of school education is not achieved by means of coordination in the areas of school entry age and compulsory school attendance, the duration and objectives of levels of education, and the transition for one level to another, as well as the recognition of qualifications, the Confederation shall issue regulations to achieve such harmonisation. |
The Confederation shall regulate the start of the school year. |
The Cantons shall participate in the drafting of federal legislation on school education that affects cantonal responsibilities, and special account shall be taken of their opinions. |
The Confederation shall issue regulations on vocational and professional education and training. |
It shall encourage the provision of a diverse and accessible range of courses in vocational and professional education and training. |
The Confederation shall manage the Federal Institutes of Technology. It may establish, take over or manage additional universities and other higher education institutions. |
It shall support the cantonal universities and may make financial contributions to other higher education institutions that it recognises. |
The Confederation and the Cantons are jointly responsible for the coordination and guarantee of quality in Swiss higher education. In fulfilling this responsibility, they shall take account of the autonomy of the universities and the various bodies responsible for them and ensure the equal treatment of institutions with the same functions. |