The Bulletin of the Parliament

5 July 2018

In 2016, it will be 125 years since the debates in the Swiss parliament first appeared publicly in the three official languages (German, French and Italian).

The debate began immediately after the adoption of the new Constitution of 1848. It would take until 1891 for the first Bulletin to see the light of day: Amtliches Bulletin der Bundesversammlung, Bulletin officiel de l’Assemblée fédérale, Bollettino ufficiale dell’Assemblea federale.

Previously, that publication was mainly a matter of journalism by the first pioneers of the civil service.

They began to publish at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries, during the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803), the old Confederation (1803-1813 and 1815-1848), and the new Confederation after 1848. Gradually, they became increasingly professional.

In 1799, the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) established a publicly accessible archive for matters at the federal level, which was revived after 1848. The aim was also to give interested parties effective access to federal matters.

After 125 years, the Bulletin remains a prominent feature in this archive. However, digital media, including video, the Internet, and integrated broadcasts of all parliamentary assemblies, have replaced paper and printing ink. The Bulletin’s content was initially limited to discussions of referendums (from 1874 onwards) and Initiatives (from 1891 onwards).

It was not until 1971 that all discussions in the parliamentary assembly were literally and wholly reproduced. Nowadays, all council meetings can be followed directly, the Bulletin is available online, and the parliament’s archive is digitised.