Chapter II.

Article 71. With the reservation of the rights of the people and of the Cantons (Articles 89 and 121), the supreme authority of the Confederation is exercised by the Federal Assembly, [Assemblée fédérale; Bundesversammlung] which consists of two sections or councils, to wit: (A) The National Council. (B) The Council of States.

Article 72. The National Council [Conseil National; Nationalrath] is composed of representatives of the Swiss people, chosen in the ratio of one member for each 20,000 persons of the total population. Fractions of upwards of 10,000 persons are reckoned as 20,000. Every Canton, and in the divided Cantons every Half-Canton, chooses at least one representative.

Article 73. The elections for the National Council are direct. They are held in federal electoral districts, which in no case shall be formed out of parts of different Cantons.

Article 74. Every Swiss who has completed twenty years of age, and who in addition is not excluded from the rights of a voter by the legislation of the Canton in which he is domiciled, has the right to vote in elections and popular votes. Nevertheless, the Confederation by law may establish uniform regulations for the exercise of such right.

Article 75. Every lay Swiss citizen who has the right to vote is eligible for membership in the National Council.

Article 76. The National Council is chosen for three years, and entirely renewed at each general election.

Article 77. Representatives to the Council of States, members of the Federal Council, and officials appointed by that Council, shall not at the same time be members of the National Council.

Article 78. The National Council chooses out of its own number, for each regular or extraordinary session, a President and a Vice-President. A member who has held the office of President during a regular session is ineligible either as President, or Vice-President at the next regular session. The same member may not be Vice-President during two consecutive regular sessions. When the votes are equally divided the President has a casting vote; in elections he votes in the same manner as other members.

Article 79. The members of the National Council receive a compensation out of the federal treasury.

Article 80. The Council of States [Conseil des États; Ständerath] consists of forty-four representatives of the Cantons. Each Canton appoints two representatives; in the divided Cantons, each Half-State chooses one.

Article 81. The members of the National Council and those of the Federal Council may not be representatives in the Council of States.

Article 82. The Council of States chooses out of its own number for each regular or extraordinary session a President and a Vice-President. Neither the President nor the Vice-President can be chosen from among the representatives of the Canton from which the President has been chosen for the regular session next preceding. Representatives of the same Canton cannot occupy the position of Vice-President during two consecutive regular sessions. When the votes are equally divided the President has a casting vote; in elections he votes in the same manner as the other members.

Article 83. Representatives in the Council of States receive a compensation from the Cantons.

Article 84. The National Council and the Council of States consider all the subjects which the present Constitution places within the competence of the Confederation, and which are not assigned to any other federal authority.

Article 85. The subjects within the competence of the two Councils are particularly the following:

1. Laws on the organization of and election of federal authorities.

2. Laws and ordinances on subjects which by the Constitution are placed within the federal competence.

3. The salary and compensation of members of the federal governing bodies and of the Federal Chancery; the creation of federal offices and the determination of salaries therefor.

4. The election of the Federal Council, of the Federal Court, and of the Chancellor, and also of the Commander-in-chief of the federal army. The Confederation may by law assign to the Federal Assembly other powers of election or of confirmation.

5. Alliances and treaties with foreign powers, and also the approval of treaties made by the Cantons between themselves or with foreign powers; nevertheless the treaties made by the Cantons shall be brought before the Federal Assembly only in case the Federal Council or another Canton protests.

6. Measures for external safety and also for the maintenance of the independence and neutrality of Switzerland; the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace.

7. The guaranty of the Constitution and of the territory of the Cantons; intervention in consequence of such guaranty; measures for the internal safety of Switzerland, for the maintenance of peace and order; amnesty and pardon.

8. Measures for the preservation of the Constitution, for carrying out the guaranty of the cantonal constitutions, and for fulfilling federal obligations.

9. The power of controlling the federal army.

10. The determination of the annual budget, the audit of public accounts, and federal ordinances authorizing loans.

11. The superintendence of federal administration and of federal courts.

12. Protests against the decisions of the Federal Council upon administrative conflicts. (Article 113.)

13. Conflicts of jurisdiction between federal authorities.

14. The amendment of the federal Constitution.

Article 86. The two Councils assemble annually in regular session upon a day to be fixed by the standing orders. They are convened in extra session by the Federal Council upon the request either of one fourth of the members of the National Council, or of five Cantons.

Article 87. In either Council a quorum is a majority of the total number of its members.

Article 88. In the National Council and in the Council of States a majority of those voting is required.

Article 89. Federal laws, enactments, and resolutions shall be passed only by the agreement of the two Councils. Federal laws shall be submitted for acceptance or rejection by the people, if the demand is made by 30,000 voters or by eight Cantons. The same principle applies to federal resolutions which have a general application, and which are not of an urgent nature.

Article 90. The Confederation shall by law establish the forms and intervals to be observed in popular votes.

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Article 91. Members of either Council vote without instructions.

Article 92. Each Council takes action separately. But in the case of the elections specified in Article 85, § 4, of pardons, or of deciding a conflict of jurisdiction (Art. 85, § 13), the two Councils meet in joint session, under the direction of the President of the National Council, and a decision is made by the majority of the members of both Councils present and voting.

Article 93. Measures may originate in either Council, and may be introduced by any of their members. The Cantons may by correspondence exercise the same right.

Article 94. As a rule, the sittings of the Councils are public.

Article 95. The supreme direction and executive authority of the Confederation is exercised by a Federal Council [Conseil fédéral; Bundesrath], composed of seven members.

Article 96. The members of the Federal Council are chosen for three years by the Councils in joint session from among all the Swiss citizens eligible to the National Council. But not more than one member of the Federal Council shall be chosen from the same Canton. The Federal Council is chosen anew after each election of the National Council. Vacancies which occur in the course of the three years are filled at the first ensuing session of the Federal Assembly, for the remainder of the term of office.

Article 97. The members of the Federal Council shall not, during their term of office, occupy any other office, either in the service of the Confederation or in a Canton, or follow any other pursuit, or exercise a profession.

Article 98. The Federal Council is presided over by the President of the Confederation. There is a Vice-President. The President of the Confederation and the Vice-President of the Federal Council are chosen for one year by the Federal Assembly from among the members of the Council. The retiring President shall not be chosen as President or Vice-President for the year ensuing. The same member shall not hold the office of Vice-President during two consecutive years.

Article 99. The President of the Confederation and the other members of the Federal Council receive an annual salary from the federal treasury.

Article 100. A quorum of the Federal Council consists of four members.

Article 101. The members of the Federal Council have the right to speak but not to vote in either house of the Federal Assembly, and also the right to make motions on the subject under consideration.

Article 102. The powers and the duties of the Federal Council, within the limits of this Constitution, are particularly the following:

1. It conducts federal affairs, conformably to the laws and resolutions of the Confederation.

2. It takes care that the Constitution, federal laws and ordinances, and also the provisions of federal concordats, be observed; upon its own initiative or upon complaint, it takes measures necessary to cause these instruments to be observed, unless the consideration of redress be among the subjects which should be brought before the Federal Court, according to Article 113.

3. It takes care that the guaranty of the cantonal constitutions be observed.

4. It introduces bills or resolutions into the Federal Assembly, and gives its opinion upon the proposals submitted to it by the Councils or the Cantons.

5. It executes the laws and resolutions of the Confederation and the judgments of the Federal Court, and also the compromises or decisions in arbitration upon disputes between Cantons.

6. It makes those appointments which are not assigned to the Federal Assembly, Federal Court, or other authority.

7. It examines the treaties made by Cantons with each other, or with foreign powers, and approves them, if proper. (Article 85, § 5.)

8. It watches over the external interests of the Confederation, particularly the maintenance of its international relations, and is, in general, intrusted with foreign relations.

9. It watches over the external safety of Switzerland, over the maintenance of independence and neutrality.

10. It watches over the internal safety of the Confederation, over the maintenance of peace and order.

11. In cases of urgency, and when the Federal Assembly is not in session, the Federal Council has power to raise the necessary troops and to employ them, with the reservation that it shall immediately summon the Councils if the number of troops exceeds two thousand men, or if they remain in arms more than three weeks.

12. It administers the military establishment of the Confederation, and all other branches of administration committed to the Confederation.

13. It examines such laws and ordinances of the Cantons as must be submitted for its approval; it exercises supervision over such departments of the cantonal administration as are placed under its control.

14. It administers the finances of the Confederation, introduces the budget, and submits accounts of receipts and expenses.

15. It supervises the conduct of an the officials and employees of the federal administration.

16. It submits to the Federal Assembly at each regular session an account of its administration and a report of the condition of the Confederation, internal as well as external, and calls attention to the measures which it deems desirable for the promotion of the general welfare. It also makes special reports when the Federal Assembly or either Council requires it.

Article 103. The business of the Federal Council is distributed by departments among its members. This distribution has the purpose only of facilitating the examination and despatch of business; decisions emanate from the Federal Council as a single authority.

Article 104. The Federal Council and its departments have power to call in experts on special subjects.

Article 105. A Federal Chancery [Chancellerie fédérale; Bundeskanzlei], at the head of which is placed the Chancellor of the Confederation, conducts the secretary's business for the Federal Assembly and the Federal Council. The Chancellor is chosen by the Federal Assembly for the term of three years, at the same time as the Federal Council. The Chancery is under the special supervision of the Federal Council. A federal law shall provide for the organization of the Chancery.

Article 106. There shall be a Federal Court [Tribunal fédéral; Bundesgericht] for the administration of justice in federal concerns. There shall be, moreover, a jury for criminal cases. (Article 112.)

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Article 107. The members and alternates of the Federal Court shall be chosen by the Federal Assembly, which shall take care that all three national languages are represented therein. A law shall establish the organization of the Federal Court and of its sections, the number of judges and alternates, their term of office, and their salary.

Article 108. Any Swiss citizen eligible to the National Council may be chosen to the Federal Court. The members of the Federal Assembly and of the Federal Council, and officials appointed by those authorities, shall not at the same time belong to the Federal Court. The members of the Federal Court shall not, during their term of office, occupy any other office, either in the service of the Confederation or in a Canton, nor engage in any other pursuit, nor practice a profession.

Article 109. The Federal Court organizes its own Chancery and appoints the officials thereof.

Article 110. The Federal Court has jurisdiction in civil suits:

1. Between the Confederation and the Cantons.

2. Between the Confederation on one part and corporations or individuals on the other part, when such corporations or individuals are plaintiffs, and when the amount involved is of a degree of importance to be determined by federal legislation.

3. Between Cantons.

4. Between Cantons on one part and corporations or individuals on the other part, when one of the parties demands it, and the amount involved is of a degree of importance to be determined by federal legislation. It further has jurisdiction in suits concerning the status of persons not subjects of any government (heimathlosat), and the conflicts which arise between Communes of different Cantons respecting the right of local citizenship. [Droit de cité.]

Article 111. The Federal Court is bound to give judgment in other cases when both parties agree to abide by its decision, and when the amount involved is of a degree of importance to be determined by federal legislation.

Article 112. The Federal Court, assisted by a jury to decide upon questions of fact, has criminal jurisdiction in:

1. Cases of high treason against the Confederation, of rebellion or violence against federal authorities.

2. Crimes and misdemeanors against the law of nations.

3, Political crimes and misdemeanors which are the cause or the result of disturbances which occasion armed federal intervention.

4. Cases against officials appointed by a federal authority, where such authority relegates them to the Federal Court.

Article 113. The Federal Court further has jurisdiction:

1. Over conflicts of jurisdiction between federal authorities on one part and cantonal authorities on the other part.

2. Disputes between Cantons, when such disputes are upon questions of public law.

3. Complaints of violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, and complaints of individuals for the violation of concordats or treaties. Conflicts of administrative jurisdiction are reserved, and are to be settled in a manner prescribed by federal legislation. In all the fore-mentioned cases the Federal Court shall apply the laws passed by the Federal Assembly and those resolutions of the Assembly which have a general import. It shall in like manner conform to treaties which shall have been ratified by the Federal Assembly.

Article 114. Besides the cases specified in Articles 110, 112, and 113, the Confederation may by law place other matters within the jurisdiction of the Federal Court; in particular, it may give to that court powers intended to insure the uniform application of the laws provided for in Article 64.

Article 115. All that relates to the location of the authorities of the Confederation is a subject for federal legislation.

Article 116. The three principal languages spoken in Switzerland, German, French, and Italian, are national languages of the Confederation.

Article 117. The officials of the Confederation are responsible for their conduct in office. A federal law shall enforce this responsibility.