Swiss Constitution/Part 2

Title 2: Fundamental Rights, Civil Rights and Social Goals

Chapter 1: Fundamental Rights

Art. 7 Human Dignity

Human dignity shall be respected and protected.

Art. 8 Equality before the Law

1. All human beings are equal before the law.
2. Nobody shall suffer discrimination, particularly on grounds of origin, race, sex, age, language, social position, lifestyle, religious, philosophical or political convictions, or because of a corporal or mental disability.
3. Men and women have equal rights. Legislation shall ensure equality in law and in fact, particularly in family, education, and work. Men and women shall have the right to equal pay for work of equal value.
4. Legislation shall provide for measures to eliminate disadvantages affecting disabled people.

Art. 9 Protection against Arbitrariness and Principle of Good Faith

Every person has the right to be treated by the state organs without arbitrariness and in good faith.

Art. 10 Right to Live and Personal Freedom

1. Every person has the right to live. The death penalty is prohibited.
2. Every person has the right to personal liberty, particularly to corporal and mental integrity, and to freedom of movement.
3. Torture and any other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are prohibited.

Art. 11 Protection of Children and Young People

1. Children and young people have the right to special protection of their integrity and to encouragement of their development.
2. They may exercise their rights themselves to the extent of their capacity to discern.

Art. 12 Right to Aid in Distress

Persons in distress and incapable of looking after themselves have the right to be helped and assisted, and to receive the means that are indispensable for leading a life in human dignity.

Art. 13 Right to Privacy

1. All persons have the right to receive respect for their private and family life, home, and secrecy of the mails and telecommunications.
2. All persons have the right to be protected against the abuse of personal data.

Art. 14 Right to Marriage and Family

The right to marry and to have a family is guaranteed.

Art. 15 Freedom of Religion and Philosophy

1. The freedom of religion and philosophy is guaranteed.
2. All persons have the right to choose their religion or philosophical convictions freely, and to profess them alone or in community with others.
3. All persons have the right to join or to belong to a religious community, and to follow religious teachings.
4. No person shall be forced to join or belong to a religious community, to participate in a religious act, or to follow religious teachings.

Art. 16 Freedom of Opinion and Information

1. The freedom of opinion and information is guaranteed.
2. All persons have the right to form, express, and disseminate their opinions freely.
3. All persons have the right to receive information freely, to gather it from generally accessible sources, and to disseminate it.

Art. 17 Freedom of the Media

1. The freedom of the press, radio and television, and of other forms of public telecasting of productions and information is guaranteed.
2. Censorship is prohibited.
3. Editorial secrecy is guaranteed.

Art. 18 Freedom of Language

The freedom of language is guaranteed.

Art. 19 Right to Primary Education

The right to sufficient and free primary education is guaranteed.

Art. 20 Freedom of Science

The freedom of scientific research and teaching is guaranteed.

Art. 21 Freedom of Art

The freedom of art is guaranteed.

Art. 22 Freedom of Assembly

1. The freedom of assembly is guaranteed.
2. Every person has the right to organize assemblies, to participate in them or to stay

away from them.

Art. 23 Freedom of Association

1. The freedom of association is guaranteed.
2. Every person has the right to form associations, to join or to belong to them, and to participate in their activities.
3. No person shall be forced to join or to belong to an association.

Art. 24 Freedom of Domicile

1. Swiss citizens have the right to establish their domicile anywhere within the country.
2. They have the right to leave or to return to Switzerland.

Art. 25 Protection against expulsion, extradition, and removal by force

1. Swiss citizens may not be expelled from the country; they may be extradited to a foreign authority only with their consent
2. Refugees may not be removed by force or extradited to a state in which they are persecuted.
3. No person shall be removed by force to a state where he or she is threatened by torture, or another means of cruel and inhuman treatment or punishment.

Art. 26 Right to property

1. The right to property is guaranteed.
2. Expropriation and restrictions of ownership equivalent to expropriation shall be

fully compensated.

Art. 27 Economic Freedom

1. Economic freedom is guaranteed.
2. It contains particularly the freedom to choose one’s profession, and to enjoy free access to and free exercise of private economic activity.

Art. 28 Freedom to Unionize

1. Workers, employers, and their organizations have the right to unionize for the defense of their interests, to form unions and to join them or to keep out of them.
2. Conflicts shall be resolved to the extent possible through negotiation and mediation.
3. Strike and lockout are permitted when they relate to labor relations, and when they are not contrary to obligations to keep labor peace or to resort to conciliation.
4. Legislation may prohibit certain categories of persons from striking.

Art. 29 General Procedural Guarantees

1. Every person has the right in legal or administrative proceedings to have the case treated equally and fairly, and judged within a reasonable time.
2. The parties have the right to be heard.
3. Every person lacking the necessary means has the right to free legal assistance, unless the case appears to be without any chance of success. The person has moreover the right to free legal representation, to the extent that this is necessary to protect the person’s rights.

Art. 29a Guarantee of Legal Proceedings

Every person has the right to have legal disputes judged by a judicial authority. The Confederation and the Cantons may in exceptional cases exclude judicial proceedings.

Art. 30 Judicial Proceedings

1. Every person whose case must be judged in judicial proceedings has the right to have this done by a court that is established by law, has jurisdiction, and is independent and impartial. Exceptional tribunals are prohibited.
2. A person against whom a civil action is brought has the right to have the case heard before the court at the person’s domicile. Legislation may provide for another jurisdiction.
3. The court hearing shall be public, and the judgment shall be publicly proclaimed. Legislation may provide for exceptions.

Art. 31 Habeas Corpus

1. No person may be deprived of liberty except in the cases and in the forms provided by statute.
2. All persons deprived of their liberty have the right to be informed immediately, and in a language that they understand, of the reasons for their detention, and of their rights. They must have the opportunity to assert their rights. In particular, they have the right to have their close relatives informed.
3. Every person taken into preventive detention has the right to be brought before a judge without delay; the judge shall decide whether the person shall remain in detention or shall be released. Every person in preventive detention has the right to be judged within a reasonable time.
4. All persons who are deprived of their liberty without a trial have the right to seize a court at any time. The court shall decide as soon as possible whether the detention is legal.

Art. 32 Criminal procedure

1. Every person shall be presumed innocent until the person is subject to a condemnation having force of law.
2. Every accused person has the right to be informed as soon as possible and in full detail of the accusations. The person must have the opportunity to exercise its means of defense.
3. Every condemned person has the right to have the judgment reviewed by a higher court. The cases where the Federal Supreme Court sits as a court of sole instance are reserved.

Art. 33 Right of Petition

1. Every person has the right to address petitions to authorities without suffering prejudice.
2. The authorities must take cognizance of petitions.

Art. 34 Political Rights

1. The political rights are guaranteed.
2. The guarantee of political rights protects the free formation of opinion by the citizens and the unaltered expression of their will.

Art. 35 Realization of Fundamental Rights

1. The fundamental rights shall be realized in the entire legal system.
2. Whoever exercises a function of the state must respect the fundamental rights and contribute to their realization.
3. The authorities shall ensure that the fundamental rights also be respected in relations among private parties whenever the analogy is applicable.

Art. 36 Limitations of Fundamental Rights

1. Any limitation of a fundamental right requires a legal basis. Grave limitations must be expressly foreseen by statute. Cases of clear and present danger are reserved.
2. Any limitation of a fundamental right must be justified by public interest, or serve for the protection of fundamental rights of other persons.
3. Limitations of fundamental rights must be proportionate to the goals pursued.
4. The essence of fundamental rights is inviolable.

Chapter 2: Citizenship and Political Rights

Art. 37 Citizenships

1. Every person who has the citizenship of a Municipality and of the Canton to which it belongs, has Swiss citizenship.
2. No person shall enjoy a privilege or suffer prejudice because of his or her citizenship. Exceptions are possible to regulate political rights in bourgeoisies and corporations, and provide for participation in their assets, unless cantonal legislation excludes this.

Art. 38 Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship

1. The Confederation shall regulate the acquisition and the loss of citizenship through descent, marriage and adoption. Moreover, it shall regulate the loss of Swiss citizenship on other grounds, and the reinstatement of citizenship.
2. It shall set minimum requirements for the naturalization of foreigners by the Cantons, and grant naturalization permits.
3. It shall facilitate the naturalization of stateless children.

Art. 39 Exercise of Political Rights

1. The Confederation shall regulate the exercise of political rights in federal matters; the Cantons shall regulate the exercise of these rights in cantonal and municipal matters.
2. The political rights shall be exercised at the domicile. The Confederation and the Cantons may foresee exceptions.
3. No person shall exercise political rights in more than one Canton.
4. The Cantons may provide that new domiciliaries may exercise political rights in cantonal and municipal matters only once a waiting period of no more than three months has been observed.

Art. 40 Swiss citizens domiciled abroad

1. The Confederation shall encourage links amongst Swiss citizens domiciled abroad, and their links with Switzerland. It may support organizations which pursue this goal.
2. It shall legislate on the rights and obligations of Swiss citizens domiciled abroad, in particular on the exercise of the political rights on the federal level, the duty to render military or alternative service, assistance to needy persons, and social security.

Chapter 3: Social Goals

Art. 41

1. The Confederation and the Cantons shall strive to ensure that, in addition to personal responsibility and private initiative, a. every person shall benefit from social security; b. every person shall benefit from necessary health care; c. the family as a community of adults and children shall be protected and encouraged; d. every person capable of working shall sustain himself or herself through working under fair and adequate conditions; e. every person looking for housing shall find, for himself or herself and his or her family, appropriate housing at reasonable conditions; f. children and young people and people of working age shall benefit from initial and continuing education according to their abilities; g. children and young people shall be encouraged in their development to becomeindependent and socially responsible persons, and they shall be supported in their social, cultural, and political integration.
2. The Confederation and the Cantons shall strive to ensure that every person shall be insured against the economic consequences of old age, disability, illness, accidents, unemployment, maternity, orphanhood, and widowhood.
3. They shall strive to realize the social goals within the framework of their constitutional powers and with the means available to them.
4. No direct subjective right to prestations by the state may be derived from the social goals.