Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Local Governance in the Swiss Federal System. Comparative and Alternative Approaches to the Traditional Paradigm

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Local Governance in Multi-Layered Systems

Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 108))

Abstract

Local governance in the Swiss federal system is based on a long tradition of popular sovereignty which has given rise to a great deal of creativity, as evidenced by the heterogeneity of the cantonal systems and the multitude of intra-cantonal peculiarities which would deserve to be studied in a systematic way, a challenge which this modest contribution does not take up.

While the number of municipalities in Switzerland has decreased drastically in recent years as a result of political programmes encouraging the merger of municipalities, there has been a certain revival of interest in forms of inter-municipal collaboration. Some new forms are also emerging, such as municipal agglomerations, which deserve a chapter of their own. This overview provides the reader with some keys to understanding the system of local governance in Switzerland and invites him or her to do further research on this fascinating field.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    Bigler (2013), p. 1.

  2. 2.

    Bigler (2013), pp. 2–3.

  3. 3.

    Article 50 paragraph 1, Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 (SC 101).

  4. 4.

    Meyer (2011), p. 83.

  5. 5.

    Report of the Federal Council in Response to Identical Postulates Fluri 13.3820 and Germann 13.3835 of 13 May 2015, Implementation of article 50 of the Constitution, Federal Gazette 2015 3489 et seq. 8.

  6. 6.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 405.

  7. 7.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 398.

  8. 8.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 399.

  9. 9.

    Bigler (2013).

  10. 10.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 399.

  11. 11.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 399.

  12. 12.

    Office Fédéral de la Statistique, Les 2172 Communes de la Suisse au 1.1.2021, Carte, 17.12.2020, available at https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/fr/home/bases-statistiques/repertoire-officiel-communes-suisse.assetdetail.15144521.html.

  13. 13.

    Micotti and Bützler (2003), pp. 32–35.

  14. 14.

    Grodecki (2007), pp. 33–36.

  15. 15.

    Meylan (1972), pp. 21–23.

  16. 16.

    Meylan (1972), p. 27.

  17. 17.

    Meylan (1972), p. 37.

  18. 18.

    Meylan (1972), p. 27.

  19. 19.

    Art. 37, Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 (SC 101).

  20. 20.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 41.

  21. 21.

    Ville de Fribourg, Bourgeoisie de Fribourg, available at https://www.ville-fribourg.ch/a-propos/bourgeoisie.

  22. 22.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 326.

  23. 23.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 326.

  24. 24.

    Moor et al. (2004), pp. 328–329.

  25. 25.

    Kreis (2006), pp. 19 and 20.

  26. 26.

    Article 5 let. a, Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 (SC 101).

  27. 27.

    Article 43 let. a para. 1, Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 (SC 101).

  28. 28.

    Aubert (2000).

  29. 29.

    Message on the reorganization of financial equalisation and tasks between the Confederation and the cantons (NFA), Federal Gazette 2002 2291 et seq.

  30. 30.

    Message on the reorganization of financial equalisation.

  31. 31.

    It is worth mentioning here that the canton of Zug remains the only one not explicitly mentioning this guarantee in its Constitution although it can be deducted from the cantonal act on the municipalities.

  32. 32.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 424.

  33. 33.

    Article 3, Loi sur les Communes du Canton du Jura (LComm) of 9 November 1978.

  34. 34.

    Article 89 al 2. lit. c, Federal Court Act of 17 June 2005, SC 173 110.

  35. 35.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 451.

  36. 36.

    Aubert (2000), pp. 3–27.

  37. 37.

    Meyer (2011), p. 147.

  38. 38.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 471.

  39. 39.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 399.

  40. 40.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 399.

  41. 41.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 400.

  42. 42.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 418.

  43. 43.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 418.

  44. 44.

    État de Fribourg, Direction des Institutions, de l’Agriculture et des Forêts, Concordat du 12.03.2019, available at https://www.fr.ch/diaf/actualites/morat-clavaleyres-les-gouvernements-bernois-et-fribourgeois-ont-signe-le-concordat-reglant-la-modification-des-territoires-cantonaux.

  45. 45.

    État de Fribourg, Direction des Institutions, de l’Agriculture et des Forêts, Morat-Clavaleyres Convention, available at https://www.fr.ch/diaf/actualites/morat-clavaleyres-signature-de-la-convention-sur-la-modification-des-territoires-cantonaux.

  46. 46.

    Knapp (1988), pp. 49–60.

  47. 47.

    Article 49, Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 (SC 101).

  48. 48.

    Article 2, Statuts de l’Association des Communes Suisses, available at https://www.chgemeinden.ch/fr/verband/index.php.

  49. 49.

    Article 2, Statuts de l’Union des Villes Suisses, available at https://uniondesvilles.ch/fr/Info/union-des-villes-suisses.

  50. 50.

    Article 1, Federal Act on the Consultation Procedure of 18 March 2005, SC172 061.

  51. 51.

    Article 4 al. 2 lit. c, Federal Act on the Consultation Procedure of 18 March 2005, SC172 061.

  52. 52.

    Article 2, Convention entre la Confédération, les cantons, les villes et les communes sur la Conférence tripartite of 21 December 2016, SC 701.

  53. 53.

    Article 1, Convention entre la Confédération, les cantons, les villes et les communes sur la Conférence tripartite of 21 December 2016, SC 701.

  54. 54.

    Article 3.c, Convention entre la Confédération, les cantons, les villes et les communes sur la Conférence tripartite of 21 December 2016, SC 701.

  55. 55.

    Peregrina (2007), p. 160.

  56. 56.

    Rühli (2012).

  57. 57.

    Projet du Gouvernement et de l’AJC, Etat des lieux de la répartition des tâches et des charges et de la péréquation intercommunale, 28.10.2014, available at https://www.jura.ch/Htdocs/Files/v/21542.pdf/Departements/DFI/COM/Rapport_relation-etat-communes.pdf?download=1, 19.

  58. 58.

    Projet du Gouvernement et de l’AJC, Etat des lieux de la répartition des tâches et des charges et de la péréquation intercommunale, 28.10.2014, available at https://www.jura.ch/fr/Autorites/Administration/DFRHC/COM/Delegue-aux-affair.

  59. 59.

    Steiner and Ladner (2006), pp. 8–34.

  60. 60.

    Depending on the cantons, they are also called union de communes, syndicat de commune, Gemeindeverband, Consorzio, inter-municipal group, groupement intercommunal, Zweckverband.

  61. 61.

    Article 110 lit. b Municipalities Act of 25 September 1980 (Canton of Fribourg, SC 140.1).

  62. 62.

    Article 111 para. 2 Municipalities Act of 5 February 2004 (Canton of Valais, SC 175.1).

  63. 63.

    Article 50 para. 3 Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 (SC 101).

  64. 64.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 16.

  65. 65.

    Article 135 lit. f Municipalities Act of 9 November 1998 (Canton of Jura, SC 190.11).

  66. 66.

    Espace Communautaire Lons Agglomeration, available at https://www.ecla-jura.fr/ecla-en-1-clic/le-territoire/.

  67. 67.

    Kreis (2006), p. 49.

  68. 68.

    Office fédéral de la Statistique, Charge fiscale des couples mariés élevant deux enfants, Tableau, 16.06.2020, available at https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/fr/home/statistiques/themes-transversaux/analyses-spatiales/indicateurs-disparites-regionales/impots.assetdetail.13067781.html.

  69. 69.

    Office fédéral de la Statistique, Charge fiscale des couples mariés élevant deux enfants, Tableau, 16.06.2020, available at https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/fr/home/statistiques/themes-transversaux/analyses-spatiales/indicateurs-disparitesregionales/mobilite-accessibilite.assetdetail.13067781.html (accessed on 18 March 2021).

  70. 70.

    Moor et al. (2004), p. 425.

  71. 71.

    Keuffer (2021), pp. 67–82.

  72. 72.

    Administration Fédérale des Contributions (2017), p. 1.

  73. 73.

    Rühli (2013), p. 8.

  74. 74.

    Blöchliger and Charbit (1998).

  75. 75.

    Administration fédérale des finances (AFF) (2019).

  76. 76.

    Administration fédérale des finances (AFF) (2019).

  77. 77.

    Rühli (2013), p. 8.

  78. 78.

    Rühli (2013), p. 8.

  79. 79.

    Rühli (2013), p. 12.

References

  • Administration Fédérale des Contributions (2017) Conférence Suisse des Impôts, Les impôts en vigueur de la Confédération, des cantons et des communes (Etat de la législation au1er janvier 2017). Berne

    Google Scholar 

  • Administration fédérale des finances (AFF) (2019) Rapport technique sur la péréquation financière Bases pour la période 2020-2023, Juillet 2019. https://www.efv.admin.ch/efv/fr/home/themen/finanzausgleich/dokumentation.html

  • Aubert J-F (2000) Le Principe de Subsidiarité dans la Constitution Fédérale de 1999. In: Bolle P-H (ed) Mélanges en l’honneur de Henri-Robert Schüpbach. Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel, pp 3–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Bigler O (2013) La Révision Totale de la Constitution Fédérale du 29 mai 1874: Entre Droit, Politique et Histoire, les Enjeux de l’Écriture Constitutionnelle. Thèse Neuchâtel, [s.l.]

    Google Scholar 

  • Blöchliger H, Charbit C (1998) Péréquation financière. Revue Économique de l’OCDE, 1. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264053656-8-fr

  • Grodecki S (2007) Les Compétences Communales. In: Tanquerel T, Bellanger F (eds) L’Avenir Juridique des Communes: Journée de Droit Administratif 2007. Schulthess, Genève, pp 33–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Keuffer N (2021) Local self-government and the choice for local governance arrangements in nine Swiss municipal tasks. In: Bergström T et al (eds) The future of local self-government. European trends in autonomy, innovations and central-local relations. Springer, Cham, pp 67–82

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp B (1988) Précis de Droit Administratif, 1st edn. Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreis G (2006) Le Fédéralisme Suisse: L’Approche Historique. In: Frey R et al (eds) Le Fédéralisme Suisse, La Réforme Engagée, Ce qui Reste à Faire. Presses Polytechniques Romandes, Lausanne, pp 45–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer K (2011) Gemeindeautonomie im Wandel: eine Studie zu Art. 50 Abs. 1 BV unter Berücksichtigung der Europäischen Charta der Gemeindeautonomie, 2nd edn. Norderstedt

    Google Scholar 

  • Meylan J (1972) Problèmes Actuels de l’Autonomie Communale. Zeitschrift für Schweizerisches Recht, N F 91, 2. Halbband, pp 1–546

    Google Scholar 

  • Micotti S, Bützler M (2003) La Démocratie Communale en Suisse: Vue Générale, Institutions et Expériences dans les Villes 1990-2000. Rapport de Recherche au FNS/SNF, Université de Genève, pp 32–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Moor P et al (2004) Droit Administratif: Volume III. L’Organisation des Activités Administratives. Les Biens de l’Etat, 2nd edn. Lausanne, p 405

    Google Scholar 

  • Peregrina D (2007) La surveillance des cantons. In: Tanquerel T, Bellanger F (eds) L’Avenir Juridique des Communes: Journée de Droit Administratif 2007. Schulthess, Genève, pp 159–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Rühli L (2012) Gemeindeautonomie Zwischen Illusion und Realität, Kantonsmonitoring 4: Gemeindestrukturen und Gemeindestrukturpolitik der Kantone. Avenir Suisse, Zürich

    Google Scholar 

  • Rühli L (2013) Le Labyrinthe de la Péréquation Financière. Monitoring des Cantons 5: Comment Parvenir à une plus Grande Efficacité dans la Solidarité Intercommunale. Avenir Suisse, Zürich

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner R, Ladner A (2006) Die Schweizer Gemeinden im Fokus – Ergebnisse der Gemeindebefragung 2005. In: Glatthard A, Isch U (eds) Perspektiven für Gemeindefinanzen. Emissionszentrale der Schweizer Gemeinden, Bern, pp 8–34

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, Institute of Federalism, Université de Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland

    Flavien Felder

Authors
  1. Flavien Felder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Flavien Felder .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Verona, Verona, Italy

    Matteo Nicolini

  2. Eurac Research, Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy

    Alice Valdesalici

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Felder, F. (2023). Local Governance in the Swiss Federal System. Comparative and Alternative Approaches to the Traditional Paradigm. In: Nicolini, M., Valdesalici, A. (eds) Local Governance in Multi-Layered Systems. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 108. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41792-4_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41792-4_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-41791-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-41792-4

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation