Swiss Federal Constitution in the context of "Switzerland as a federal state"

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⭐ Core Definition: Swiss Federal Constitution

The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; German: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); French: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); Italian: Costituzione federale della Confederazione Svizzera (Cost.); Romansh: Constituziun federala da la Confederaziun svizra) of 18 April 1999 (SR 101) is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland.

It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons (states). The document contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights (including the right to call for popular referendums on federal laws and constitutional amendments), delineates the responsibilities of the cantons and the Confederation and establishes the federal authorities of government.

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👉 Swiss Federal Constitution in the context of Switzerland as a federal state

The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution in response to a 27-day civil war, the Sonderbundskrieg.

The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United States Constitution and the ideas of the French Revolution, was modified several times during the following decades and wholly replaced in 1999. The 1848 constitution represented the first time, other than when the short-lived Helvetic Republic had been imposed, that the Swiss had a central government instead of being simply a collection of autonomous cantons bound by treaties.

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Swiss Federal Constitution in the context of Swiss citizenship

The primary law governing nationality of Switzerland is the Federal Act on Swiss Citizenship, which came into force on 1 January 2018. Switzerland is a member state of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the Schengen Area. All Swiss nationals have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any European Union (EU) or EFTA country.

Swiss nationals are citizens of their municipality of origin, their canton of origin, and the Confederation, in that order: a Swiss citizen is defined as someone who has the citizenship of a Swiss municipality (article 37 of the Swiss Federal Constitution). They are entered in the family register of their place of origin. The manner by which Swiss citizens acquire their place of origin differs depending on whether they acquired Swiss citizenship by filiation (jus sanguinis), ordinary naturalisation, or facilitated naturalisation. Marriage has in and of itself no effect on the places of origin of the spouses.

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Swiss Federal Constitution in the context of Law of Switzerland

Swiss law is a set of rules which constitutes the law in Switzerland.

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Swiss Federal Constitution in the context of Federal courts of Switzerland

The federal judiciary of Switzerland consists of four federal courts: the Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne and Lucerne; the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona; the Federal Patent Court in St. Gallen; and the Federal Administrative Court in St. Gallen. These courts are charged with the application of Swiss federal law through the judicial process.

The Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne is established in the Swiss Federal Constitution as the supreme judicial authority of Switzerland. It is the court of appeal for all decisions of the cantonal courts of last instance, and also for most decisions of the three federal courts of first instance.

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