Legal aspects and referendum question

¶ Legal aspects and referendum question

Chapter 4 of the dispatch (pp. 1030-1041) covers the constitutionality of the package, the referendum question and the four federal decrees by which Parliament is to approve the package.

¶ Summary

The package is submitted to Parliament in the form of four federal decrees. All four are subject to the optional referendum under Art. 141(1)(d) of the Federal Constitution. A mandatory referendum is not required - this is consistent with established constitutional practice and was confirmed by the people in 2012.

¶ The four federal decrees

No.	Designation	Content
FD1	Stabilisation	Institutional solution, AFMP update, land transport
FD2	Internal market development	Electricity, food safety, new MRA areas
FD3	Cooperation	Programmes (EUPA), health, EUSPA, parliaments
FD4	Swiss contribution	CCA, cohesion, migration

¶ Optional referendum

All four federal decrees are subject to the optional treaty referendum under Art. 141(1)(d) of the Federal Constitution:

50,000 signatures or 8 cantons can demand a referendum
Deadline: 100 days after official publication
Vote: simple popular majority (no cantonal majority required)

¶ No mandatory referendum

The package is not subject to a mandatory referendum. Justification:

No accession to an organisation for collective security (Art. 140(1)(b) FC)
No accession to a supranational community (Art. 140(1)(b) FC)
Switzerland is not joining the EU - the agreements are bilateral treaties

Popular vote 2012: on 17 June 2012, 75.3% of voters rejected the popular initiative "International treaties: let the people decide!" which demanded a mandatory referendum for all important international treaties. The people thus confirmed the optional referendum system.

¶ Constitutionality

The constitutional basis of the package:

Provision	Content	Relevance
Art. 54 FC	Foreign affairs	General federal competence
Art. 184 FC	Treaties with foreign states	Federal Council's treaty-making power
Art. 166(2) FC	Parliamentary approval	Approval by National Council/Council of States
Art. 141(1)(d) FC	Optional referendum	Popular vote possible

Constitutionality is affirmed by the Federal Council:

Dynamic adoption of law is constitutional, as Switzerland does not automatically adopt law but takes a sovereign decision (with consequences for non-adoption)
Dispute settlement with the CJEU role is constitutional, as Switzerland acts under international law
The Swiss contribution falls within Parliament's financial competence

¶ Relationship with international law

The package is consistent with:

WTO law: no violation of MFN principles
EFTA Convention: compatible with EFTA obligations
Bilateral Agreements I/II: partially replaced, partially supplemented
Human rights: ECHR compliance guaranteed

¶ Parliamentary procedure

Federal Council: adoption of the dispatch (completed)
Committee deliberation: FAC-N and FAC-S examine the proposal
First council: one chamber deliberates first (likely the National Council)
Second council: the other chamber deliberates subsequently
Resolution of differences: in case of divergences between the councils
Final vote: both councils vote
Referendum deadline: 100 days after publication in the Federal Gazette
Popular vote: if a referendum is demanded

¶ Key points

Aspect	Detail
Federal decrees	4 (FD1-FD4)
Referendum	Optional (Art. 141(1)(d) FC)
Mandatory referendum	Not required
Signatures	50,000 or 8 cantons
Voting majority	Simple popular majority
Constitutional basis	Art. 54, 184 FC
Popular vote 2012	75.3% against mandatory referendum

¶ References

Dispatch of the Federal Council on the Switzerland-EU package, chapter 4 (pp. 1030-1041), FedGaz 2025
Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (FC), Art. 54, 140, 141, 166, 184
Popular vote of 17 June 2012, popular initiative "International treaties: let the people decide!"
Opinion of the Federal Office of Justice on constitutionality, 2025