The Municipalities
7 February 2023
Definition
Each canton is subdivided into municipalities. The area of a canton is the sum of these municipalities, just as Switzerland is the sum of the twenty-six cantons.
The cantons are also subdivided into districts that cover several municipalities. Unlike municipalities, districts are not derived from the Federal Constitution but rather from the cantons’ constitutions.
Municipalities have a modest role in the Constitution. Only Art. 50 recognises their existence. The cantons have complete autonomy in setting up municipalities (Art. 50 (1).
The Confederation considers municipalities’ autonomy when legislating and making decisions (Art. 50 (2). Cities and mountain areas have a special place in this respect (Art. 50 (3).
Organisation and powers
The organisation of municipalities differs from canton to canton. Switzerland has around 2,200 communes. The largest is Zürich (c. 400,000 inhabitants), and the smallest is Corripo (canton of Tessin,) with 20 inhabitants. Scuol (canton of Graubünden) is the largest municipality, and Rivaz (Vaud) is the smallest.
The municipalities perform the tasks that cantons do not perform, following the principle of subsidiarity by which the three layers of Swiss constitutional law function: federal, cantonal, and municipal (Art. 3 and Art. 50 Federal Constitution).
In their constitutions, the cantons define their legal personality, government, administration, democratic representation and election system. These are the creations of the cantons; as such, they enjoy the autonomy each canton grants them.
Cantonal courts of law exist for disputes between municipalities and cantons. The Supreme Court (Bundesgericht) in Lausanne is the highest body of appeal.
Local authorities may sometimes refer cases directly to this supreme federal court.In two instances, cantonal courts adjudicate disputes between citizens and municipalities.
Types of municipalities.
The political municipality (Einwohnergemeinde or politische Gemeinde) encompasses all individuals residing within the municipality. The territorial element determines the status of the inhabitants. This municipality plays the most crucial role in state law. All voters exercise their political rights in their municipality’s federal, cantonal, and communal affairs (Federal Constitution, Article 39-2/4). Citizenship of the municipality is the basis and condition for acquiring cantonal citizenship and, thus, Swiss citizenship (Federal Constitution, Article 37-1).
Half of the cantons are citizens’ municipalities (Bürgergemeinde). It comprises all persons holding citizenship of the municipality. It is a community of persons.
All cantons have a church community (Kirchgemeinde) for every member of a specific church.
A Spezialgemeinde is responsible for carrying out specific tasks in certain cantons.
The representation of the citizens
The essential democratic pillars of each municipality are direct democracy and the parliament elected by the citizens or the assembly of citizens.
Each cantonal Constitution is based on the principle of subsidiarity and the citizens’ final say (direct democracy).
The assembly of citizens
Most municipalities do not have a parliament, but rather a citizens’ assembly, which serves as their legislative and supreme body. Assembly meetings are held several times a year or at the request of citizens or the municipal government. At these meetings, an agenda is put to the vote. Decisions are made based on a majority vote by raising hands or (if requested) by a secret ballot vote.
Hand-raising originates from the medieval tradition of direct democracy in the communes, known as Landsgemeinde. It is still the only method in the cantons of Glarus and Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Larger municipalities cannot hold meetings for all citizens, but instead have a representative system in place. Everyone has the right to vote, but in practice, as in any association, foundation, or political organisation, only a few citizens actively participate.
Moreover, municipal law typically stipulates a secret ballot vote for essential decisions.
In most small(er) municipalities of German-speaking Switzerland and some French-speaking cantons, the citizens also elect the municipal government and the praesidium.
Parliament
Nearly all larger towns and municipalities have a directly elected parliament or municipal council (Gemeindeparlament, Grosser Gemeinderat, Conseil général, Einwohnerrat, Consiglio comunale, Conseil communal, Generalrat, Conseil municipal).
In Neuchâtel and Geneva, this is compulsory for all municipalities; in Vaud, it applies to municipalities with 1,000 inhabitants or more, and in Ticino, it applies to municipalities with 5,000 inhabitants or more.
The largest Swiss municipalities without a parliament are Solothurn and Rapperswil-Jona (in the canton of St. Gall).
The municipal government
The citizens also directly elect the municipal government (the executive). Its name varies from canton to canton: Stadtrat, Gemeinderat, administratiever Rat, Bezirksrat, Rat, Gemeindevorstand, Gemeindebehörde, Municipio, Municipalité, Conseil communal, Conseil adminitratif.
Smaller municipalities often delegate governmental powers to one elected citizen (Stadtpräsident, Gemeindepräsident, Gemeindeammam, Syndic, Maire, Sindaco).
The administration is as large as the municipality needs, and the canton permits (Art. 50 (1).
The system of militia (Milizsystem) also applies to elected officials or politicians at the municipal level.
Only some functions receive a salary, such as the mayor in the larger municipalities or the capacity of Stadtpräsident, Gemeindepräsident, Gemeindeammam, Syndic, Maire, and Sindaco.
(Source: A. Auer, Staatsrecht der schweizerischen Kantone, Bern 2016).