Bundeshaus Bern, die ersten Eidgenossen. Photo/foto: TES.

A Short History of the Constitution

The old Confederation (Eidgenossenschaft) of thirteen cantons or Orte (situation 1513) did not yet have a Constitution but was a loose confederation of cantons. Its members were: Appenzell, Basel, Bern, Freiburg, Glarus, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Unterwalden, Uri, Zug and Zurich.

The Confederation 1291-1515

The Confederation, or Eidgenossenschaft, was based on mutual treaties concluded between two or more cantons over centuries. From the very beginning, the Eidgenossenschaft was a bottom-up process of state-building. More and more cities or Orte joined until 1513.

A critical moment was the conquest of Aargau in 1415. The cantons decided to rule the conquered and subject areas (Untertanengebiet) together (Gemeine Herrschaft). The Tagsatzung, the general assembly of the cantons, was created for this purpose.

Thurgau was conquered in 1460 and became a subject area for the Eidgenossenschaft. The Burgundian wars (1474-1477), the expansion into the Italian territories (Tessin, 1512), and the conquest of Vaud (1536) led to the joint administration of more territories.

The Swabian War (Schwabenkrieg, Schweizerkrieg, or Engadinerkrieg) of 1499 expanded the Eidgenossenschaft to include five new members. In addition, more regions and cities joined as allies or zugewandte Orte.

The Freistaat includes St. Gallen, Graubünden, Valais, Geneva, and Neuchàtel, as well as several cities in Germany and France (e.g., Rottweil, Besançon, Mulhouse, Strasbourg, Colmar).

Until 1515 and the defeat at Marignano, the Eidgenossenschaft was a military superpower with no political unity or Constitution in Central Europe.

1515-1798

The Eidgenossenschaft even survived the Reformation. This is an indication of the strong bond that already existed between the cantons despite the religious strife and other (economic) disputes.

The Eidgenossenschaft without a Constitution survived mainly due to the local constitutions, (shared) interests, and wisdom of the members.

In Zurich, for example, the reformer Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) was not immediately burned but was heard by the city council. He even convinced them, and Zurich became a Protestant city in 1525.

The two (Catholic and Protestant) Appenzellers were created after a vote in the Landsgemeinde (Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Protestant) and the parish of the church (Appenzell Innerrhoden, Catholic) in 1597. Protestant Berne remained an ally of Catholic Solothurn and Freiburg.

1798-1803

The Eidgenossenchaft functioned without a Constitution until 1798. From 1798-1803 the Helvetic Republic was a unitary state with a Constitution based on the French model and principles of unity, legal equality and fraternity.

1803-1815

The Swiss cantons did not fit into the straitjacket of a unitary state. On 19 February 1803, the new (French) Constitution (the  Mediation Act) created a new Confederation of nineteen independent cantons (with the new cantons of  Vaud, Aargau, Thurgau, Tessin, St. Gallen and  Graubünden).

1815-1848

After Napoleon’s defeat, the new Eidgenossenschaft and the Constitution of the twenty-two cantons (with Geneva, Neuchâtel and Valais as new cantons) was founded on 7 August 1815. The Bundesvertrag was the constitutional fundament. The Bund, at the federal level, had minimal powers. The cantons remained sovereign.

The years 1815-1848 represent a crucial period. The old (oligarchic) structures were back in power in most cantons. However, the ideals of popular sovereignty, (direct) democracy and referendums enjoyed the support of the liberal bourgeoisie.

This caused tensions between and within the cantons, between federalists (confederation) and unionists (unitary state), old structures (ancien régime) and radical-liberal groups, and between Catholic and Protestant cantons.

In this complicated situation, the Constitution of 1815 could not be reformed, and a short civil war (Sonderbundskrieg) was the climax in 1847.

This escalation led to the Constitution of 1848 (after approval by a referendum), which was amended 140 times until the year 2000.

1848-2000

Every amendment of the Consitution must be submitted to the People in the form of a mandatory referendum, whether it concerned the first major revision in 1874  (including the optional referendum), the revision of 1891 (including the People’s Initiative), the introduction of the voting system of proportionality (1918), women’s suffrage (1971), the new canton of Jura (1979) or the major revision of 1999 (which came into force on 1 January 2000).

Most adaptations are related to the transfer of new powers to the federal level (der Bund) because of an increasing number of governmental tasks (e.g. concerning the environment, social security, immigration, and transport).

The principles of the Constitution of 1848 have not changed. Switzerland is a confederal, decentralised democratic state. The citizens always have the final say at federal, cantonal and municipal levels, thus controlling the political parties and their networks.

The Eidgenossenschaft and the Constitution are a centuries-old bottom-up project on behalf of the cantons and the People.  Switzerland boasts the maximum alliance of four sovereign cantons and four languages.