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 Switzerlandportal |
Swiss law is a set of rules which constitutes the law in Switzerland.
There is a hierarchy of political levels which reflects the legal and constitutional character of Switzerland.
The Federal law (German : Bundesrecht, French : Droit fédéral, Italian : Diritto federale) consist of the following parts: [1]
According to the current Federal Constitution (SR 101 Art. 1, 3) and the principle of subsidiarity (Switzerland) (SR 101 Art. 5a) and the Title 3 Confederation, Cantons and Communes (SR 101), the Cantons of Switzerland "are sovereign except to the extent that their sovereignty is limited by the Federal Constitution. They exercise all rights that are not vested in the Confederation" and "the principle of subsidiarity must be observed in the allocation and performance of state tasks". [4]
The Internal law (German : Landesrecht, French : Droit interne, Italian : Diritto interno, Romansh : Dretg naziunal) consists of the following parts: [3]
Some major aspects are:
The federal government publishes legal instruments in three principal official publications:
All three publications are issued in the three official languages of Switzerland: German, French and Italian. All three language editions are equally valid. They are published by the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland in the form of weekly supplements to loose leaf binders. Since 1999, they are also made available on the Internet in PDF format (as well as HTML in the case of the SR/RS).[ citation needed ]
The Swiss Civil Code (SR 21) was adopted on 10 December 1907 (Status as of 1 January 2016, SR 210) and has been in force since 1912. It was largely influenced by the German civil code, and partly influenced by the French civil code, but the majority of comparative law scholars (such as K. Zweigert and Rodolfo Sacco) argue that the Swiss code derives from a distinct paradigm of civil law.
The Swiss Criminal Code (SR 311) of 21 December 1937 (Status as of 1 July 2016, SR 311.0) goes back to an 1893 draft by Carl Stooss. It has been in effect since 1942.
Among the notable changes to earlier Swiss criminal law was the abolition of capital punishment in Switzerland and the legalization of homosexual acts between adults (until 1990, the age of consent for homosexual acts remained set at 20 years, compared to 16 years for heterosexual acts).
The code has been revised numerous times since 1942. The most recent revision (as of 2010), in effect since 2007, introduced the possibility to convert short prison sentences (below one year) into fines, calculated based on a daily rate which has to be established based on the "personal and economic situation of the convict at the time of the verdict", with an upper limit set at CHF 3000 per day of the sentence. Practically all prison sentences shorter than one year have since been converted into fines, conditional sentences (parole) to conditional fines. This has caused controversy because the result is that lighter offences not punishable by imprisonment always result in unconditional fines, while more severe offences now often result in conditional fines that do not need to be paid at all. [6] The Federal Council in October 2010 announced its intention to revert to the earlier system, and all large parties expressed at least partial support. [7]
The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. German, French, and Italian maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation, while Romansh is used in dealings with people who speak it. Latin is occasionally used in some formal contexts, particularly to denote the country.
The Council of States is the upper house of the Federal Assembly, and the lower house being the National Council. It comprises 46 members.
The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins.
The Swiss Civil Code is a portion of the second part of the internal Swiss law that regulates the codified law ruling in Switzerland and relationship between individuals. It was first adopted in 1907.
The Federal Assembly is the federal bicameral parliament of Switzerland. It comprises the 200-seat National Council and the 46-seat Council of States. It meets in Bern in the Federal Palace.
The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland.
The copyright law of Switzerland is based on the concept of "author's rights", which is similar to the French copyright law, instead of the concept of copyright used in common law jurisdictions. The current copyright law of Switzerland is the Swiss Federal Copyright Act of 1992, which dates from October 9, 1992 and has only seen minor revisions since then. In October 2007, a revision was approved in order to implement the WIPO Copyright Treaty in the act, a process started in 2004 with the release by the Swiss Federal Council of a draft project.
The Federal Criminal Court, is a Swiss federal court. Since its inception in 2004, it has been located in Bellinzona.
The Swiss Criminal Code is a portion of the third part of the internal Swiss law that regulates the criminal code in Switzerland. The original version was created on 21 December 1937. It entered into force on 1 January 1942. Previously, criminal law had been a cantonal competency.
The Collection of Swiss Law Sources is a collection of critical editions of historical legal documents created on Swiss territory from the early Middle Ages up to 1798.
The Swiss Federal Patent Court is a Swiss federal court competent for particular legal matters, such as patent cases. It has its seat in Sankt Gallen, Switzerland.
The Swiss Code of Obligations, the 5th part of the Swiss civil code, is a federal law that regulates contract law and corporations (Aktiengesellschaft). It was first adopted in 1911.
The Official Compilation of Federal Legislation (AS) (German: Amtliche Sammlung des Bundesrechts, AS; French: Recueil officiel du droit fédéral, RO; Italian: Raccolta ufficiale delle leggi federali, RU) is the federal government gazette of Switzerland. All Swiss federal laws and ordinances, as well as amendments to them, enter into force by chronological publication in the AS/RO/RU.
The Systematic Compilation of Federal Legislation (SR) (German: Systematische Sammlung des Bundesrechts, SR; French: Recueil systématique du droit fédéral, RS; Italian: Raccolta sistematica, RS) is the official compilation of all Swiss federal laws, ordinances, international and intercantonal treaties that are in force.
The Federal Gazette is the official gazette of the federal government of Switzerland.
The Publications Act (PublA) (German: Publikationsgesetz, PublG, French: Loi sur les publications officielles, LPubl, Italian: Legge sulle pubblicazioni ufficiali, LPubb), is a Swiss federal law that governs the publication of the compilations of federal law (Official Compilation and Systematic Compilation) and of the Federal Gazette. It was adopted on 18 June 2004 by the Federal Assembly and came into force on 1 January.
In Switzerland, a federal act is a legislative law adopted at the level of the Confederation. By default, its duration of application is unlimited. It takes precedence over cantonal and communal law.
Schubert practice, also known as the Schubert jurisprudence, is a partially abandoned legal doctrine in Swiss law manifested in a series of decisions of the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, according to which provisions of domestic law have practical primacy over otherwise binding, but conflicting, provisions of international law as long as the former are lex posterior – even if the latter are lex specialis – based on a generalized hypothesis that a posterior act of the legislator whereby an existing act of international law has been contradicted was, in reality, a conscious, albeit implicit, act of abrogation. As an immediate consequence, when the doctrine is applied, international law is violated.
A federal decree is an act that can be adopted by the Swiss Federal Assembly in application of a federal law, insofar as the text does not contain rules of law, meaning that it can only be a decision on the application of general and abstract norms laid down in the law.
The Romansh and English versions are not legally binding and incomplete
The Romansh and English versions are not legally binding and incomplete
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
The Romansh and English versions are not legally binding and incomplete
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