Federal Act
on the Federal Assembly
(Parliament Act, ParlA)

The members the Federal Assembly (assembly members) have the right to submit parliamentary initiatives and parliamentary procedural requests and to propose candidates for election.

They may submit proposals relating to pending business and procedure.

The standing orders of the councils may provide that the rights in accordance with paragraph 1 may be exercised jointly by two or more council members.⁷

The right to speak and the time allowed for speeches may be limited by the standing orders of the councils.

If a parliamentary initiative, a motion or a postulate is opposed, a vote may be held only if the originator has been given the opportunity to provide verbal justification. In addition, the person who first requested rejection must at least be given the right to speak.⁸

The assembly members have the right to be provided with information by the Federal Council and the Federal Administration and to inspect documents on any matter of relevance to the Confederation, provided this is required for the exercise of their parliamentary mandates.

An individual assembly member has no right to information:

1. from the joint reporting procedure and deliberations in Federal Council meetings;

2. that is classified as confidential or secret in the interests of state security or the intelligence service, or the disclosure of which to unauthorised persons may be detrimental to national interests;

3. that is treated as confidential for the protection of personal privacy.⁹

In the event of any disagreement between an assembly member and the Federal Council as to the extent of rights to information, the assembly member may call on the Presiding College of the council to which he or she belongs. The Presiding College mediates between the assembly member and the Federal Council.

If there is disagreement between an assembly member and the Federal Council, the Presiding College of the council has the final decision on whether the information is required to exercise the relevant parliamentary mandate.

As an alternative to permitting the inspection of documents, the Federal Council may submit a report to an assembly member if there is disagreement between the Federal Council and the assembly member as to whether the assembly member has a right to information in terms of paragraph 2 and the mediation of Presiding College of the council is unsuccessful.

The Presiding College of the council has an unrestricted right to inspect the documents of the Federal Council and the Federal Administration when preparing to mediate.

The assembly members are bound by official secrecy where, through their official activities, they acquire knowledge of information that must be kept secret or confidential in order to safeguard overriding public or private interests, and in particular in order to protect personal privacy or to avoid prejudicing pending court proceedings.

Assembly members receive from the Confederation a salary in respect of their parliamentary activities and a contribution to cover the expenses that they incur in connection therewith. The details are regulated by the Parliamentary Resources Act of 18 March 1988¹⁰.

Assembly members are obliged to attend the meetings of the councils and committees.

If events arise that could prevent several assembly members from physically attending council meetings, a council may permit individual assembly members to attend virtually, provided the quorum is reached in accordance with Article 159 paragraph 1 of the Federal Constitution.

An assembly member may attend council meetings virtually only if their physical attendance is prevented by an official order relating to the events set out in paragraph 1 or due to force majeure. The assembly member shall inform the Council President in good time.

Assembly members who attend virtually shall have the same rights as those who attend physically, with the exception that they are not permitted to participate in elections and meetings in camera (in accordance with Article 4 paragraph 2).

Votes shall not be held again if assembly members are unable to cast their votes on technical grounds.

The council and the public shall be informed as to which assembly members have attended meetings virtually.

On assuming office and at the start of every year, each assembly member must inform his or her office in writing about his or her:

1. ¹³professional activities; if the assembly member is an employee, they must give information about their position and their employer;

2. ¹⁴further activities on management or supervisory committees as well as advisory committees and similar bodies of Swiss and foreign business undertakings, institutions and foundations under private and public law;

3. activities as a consultant or as a specialist adviser to federal agencies;

4. permanent management or consultancy activities on behalf of Swiss or foreign interest groups;

5. participation in committees or other organs of the Confederation.

In the case of activities listed in paragraph 1 letters b−e, the assembly member shall declare whether the activity is voluntary or paid. The reimbursement of expenses is not regarded as payment for an activity.¹⁵

The Parliamentary Services maintain a public register containing the information provided by assembly members.

Assembly members whose personal interests are directly affected by any matter being considered must indicate their personal interest when making a statement in the council or in a committee.

Professional secrecy in terms of the Swiss Criminal Code¹⁶ is reserved.

In exercising supervisory control in accordance with Article 26, members of committees and delegations shall recuse themselves if they have a direct personal interest in any item of business or could be impartial for any other reasons. The representation of political interests, and in particular those of communities, parties or associations, is not a reason for recusal.

In the event of any dispute, the committee or delegation concerned shall make a final decision on recusal after hearing the member concerned.

Assembly members are prohibited from acting in an official capacity for a foreign state or from accepting titles or honours from foreign governments.

Where an assembly member, having been issued with a formal warning, once again infringes the administrative and procedural regulations of the councils, the President may:

1. revoke the assembly member’s right to speak; or

2. exclude the assembly member from the meeting for all or part of its remaining duration.

Where an assembly member commits a serious infringement of administrative or procedural regulations or breaches official secrecy, the relevant council office may:

1. officially reprimand the assembly member; or

2. suspend the assembly member from participation in the committees for up to six months.

The council shall decide on any objections raised by the council member in question.

The following persons may not be members of the Federal Assembly:

1. persons that it has elected or whose appointment it has confirmed;

2. judges of the federal courts whom it has not elected;

3. ¹⁸staff of the central and decentralised Federal Administration, the Parliamentary Services and the federal courts, the secretariat of the Supervisory Authority for the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland as well as members of extra-parliamentary commissions with decision-making powers, unless specific statutory provisions provide otherwise;

4. members of the armed forces command staff;

5. members of the management organs of organisations or entities under public or private law that do not form part of the Federal Administration but which are entrusted with administrative tasks, where the Confederation has control thereover;

6. persons that represent the Confederation in organisations or entities under public or private law that do not form part of the Federal Administration but which are entrusted with administrative tasks, where the Confederation has control thereover.

In cases of incompatibility in terms of Article 14 letter a, the person concerned must declare which of the two offices he or she has chosen to accept.

In cases of incompatibility in terms of Article 14 letters b–f, the person concerned shall be removed from the Federal Assembly six months from the date of the incompatibility being established, provided he or she has not resigned from the other position by that time.

Assembly members may not be held legally accountable for statements they make in the Assembly or in its organs.

Criminal proceedings may be brought against an assembly member for an offence that is directly related to his or her official position or activity only if authorised by the competent committees of both councils. The standing orders of each council shall designate the competent committee.

If it appears justified given the circumstances of the case, the competent committees may assign the prosecution and adjudication of an offence subject to cantonal jurisdiction to the prosecution authorities of the Confederation.

The United Federal Assembly may appoint a Special Attorney General.

The presidents of the competent committees may by mutual agreement return to the prosecution authorities applications providing insufficient grounds for lifting immunity so that these can be rectified.²⁰

If an application is clearly untenable, the presidents of the competent committees may by mutual agreement deal directly with the application. They shall inform the committees in advance. If the majority in a committee elects to discuss an application, the application is dealt with according to the standard procedure under Article 17a.²¹

An application to lift immunity shall first be considered by the competent committee of the council to which the accused assembly member belongs.

If the decisions of both committees on whether to consider the application or lift immunity do not correspond, the committees shall attempt to resolve their differences. The second rejection of an application by a committee is final.

The committees are quorate when a majority of their members is present. The presence of a quorum must be confirmed.

The committees shall hear the accused assembly member. The member may not be represented or accompanied.

The decision of the committees is final.

Once a committee has notified the assembly member concerned, it shall inform the public immediately. At the same time, it shall inform the members of both councils in a written communication.

If the accused assembly member is a member of one of the competent committees, he or she shall recuse him or herself.

The authorisation of the Presiding Colleges of the councils is required for the suspension of postal and telecommunications secrecy in terms of Article 321^ter of the Swiss Criminal Code²³ if:

1. it is intended to prosecute a criminal offence committed by an assembly member;

2. it is intended to order measures against an assembly member that permit the surveillance of a third party with which the assembly member has dealings by reason of his or her office.

Paragraph 1 also applies by analogy to those cases in which other inquiries or criminal investigation measures are required in respect of an assembly member for an initial clarification of the facts of the case or to secure evidence.

As soon as the measures authorised by Presiding Colleges of the councils have been carried out, authorisation for prosecution must be obtained from the competent committees of both councils in accordance with Article 17, unless proceedings have already been dropped.²⁴

Any arrest made without this authorisation is unlawful.²⁵

The Presiding Colleges of the councils shall reach their decisions by joint deliberation in camera. The granting of authorisation in terms of Article 18 requires the agreement at least five members.

Authorisation to suspend postal and telecommunications secrecy may only be granted if the relevant authority has approved the order for surveillance to be carried out.²⁶

Criminal proceedings against an assembly member in respect of a felony or misdemeanour that is not connected with his or her official position or activities may only be initiated during a session with the written consent of the member or with the authorisation of the competent committee of the council to which the member belongs. The standing orders of each council shall designate the competent committee.²⁷

The foregoing does not apply to a precautionary arrest due to a risk of absconding or where the member is caught in the act of committing a felony. The authority ordering the arrest must apply within 24 hours directly to the competent committee of the council to which the arrested member belongs for its consent, unless the person concerned has given his or her own consent to being arrested.²⁸

If criminal proceedings in respect of the offences named in paragraphs 1 and 2 have already been commenced against an assembly member at the start of a session, the member has the right to request a decision by the competent committee of the council to which he or she belongs on the continuation of any detention that has already been ordered and on any summons to attend court hearings. The submission of such a request has no suspensive effect on orders already made.²⁹

The right to attend a session may not be invoked against a legally enforceable judgment that imposes a custodial sentence the execution of which has been ordered prior to start of the session.

In the event of any dispute as to whether authorisation in terms of Articles 17–20 is required, the organ responsible for granting authorisation decides.

The financial liability of an assembly member for his or her official activities is governed by the Government Liability Act of 14 March 1958³¹.

The Administration Delegation shall decide on the liability of an assembly member under Articles 7 and 8 of the Government Liability Act of 14 March 1958.

The assembly member may contest the decision of the Administration Delegation by filing an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.

The organs of the Federal Assembly are:

1. the National Council;

2. the Council of States;

3. the United Federal Assembly;

4. the Presiding Colleges;

5. the Offices;

6. the Conference for Coordination and the Administration Delegation;

7. the committees and their sub-committees and delegations;

8. the parliamentary groups.

The Federal Assembly meets in Bern.

It may by simple federal decree decide by way of exception to meet at a different location.

If it is not possible to convene in Bern, the Conference for Coordination may decide that the Federal Assembly shall meet at a different location.⁴⁴

If an in-person meeting is not possible, a council’s office may decide to hold individual council meetings virtually. Council decisions to the contrary remain reserved.

Elections and meetings in camera in accordance with Article 4 paragraph 2 shall not be held virtually.

Votes shall not be held again if assembly members are unable to cast their votes on technical grounds.

Subject to any other decisions taken by the council, the office shall determine which meetings are to be held virtually and the items on the agenda for those meetings. It may adopt temporary organisational measures that deviate from the rules of procedure of the relevant council.

The National Council and the Council of States are convened by their Offices.

The United Federal Assembly is convened by the Conference for Coordination.

The President of the National Council or, in the event of his or her incapacity, the President of the Council of States is obliged to convene the councils if the security of the federal authorities is endangered or the Federal Council is unable to act.

The decision of one Council to postpone or prematurely end the session requires the consent of the other Council.

If it is not possible to convene in person, the Conference for Coordination may decide to postpone or terminate the session early.

The Presiding College of each council comprises the President, the first Vice-President and the second Vice-President.

Each council shall establish an office to deal with its administration and other related matters.

The office of each council comprises the members of the Presiding College and other members as determined by the respective standing orders of the councils.

The rights and duties assigned to the committees by this Act also apply to the Offices.

Each council shall issue standing orders with the implementing provisions relating to its organisation and procedure.

The Office of the National Council and the Office of the Council of States constitute the Conference for Coordination.

The Conference for Coordination has the following duties:

1. ⁴⁷It decides on the calendar week in which the ordinary and extraordinary sessions are held.

2. It deals with business between the two councils and between the councils and the Federal Council.

3. ⁴⁸…

4. It elects the General Secretary of the Federal Assembly. The election must be confirmed by the United Federal Assembly.

5. It approves the formation of new parliamentary groups in accordance with the criteria stated in Article 61.

The Federal Council may participate in its meetings in an advisory capacity.

The decisions of the Conference for Coordination require the agreement of the Offices of the National Council and of the Council of States. Elections in accordance with paragraph 2 letter d shall take place by an absolute majority of the voting members.

...⁴⁹

The Administration Delegation comprises three members from each of the Offices of the councils as appointed by the Conference for Coordination. The Administration Delegation shall appoint one of its members as its delegate. It constitutes itself.

The Administration Delegation is responsible for the overall management of the administration of Parliament. Within the scope of its responsibilities for the draft budget of the Federal Assembly, it shall ensure in particular that the Federal Assembly and its bodies have the necessary resources and infrastructure at their disposal. It may issue directives on the allocation of human and financial resources.⁵⁰

The Administration Delegation shall take decisions by a simple majority of its voting members.

The Office of the United Federal Assembly comprises the Presiding Colleges of both councils.

The chairperson is the President of the National Council or, in the event of his or her incapacity, the President of the Council of States.

The Office shall prepare the meetings of the United Federal Assembly.

It may appoint committees of the United Federal Assembly. They comprise twelve members of the National Council and five members of the Council of States.

The Pardons and Jurisdiction Committee considers applications for pardons and decisions on conflicts of jurisdiction between the supreme federal authorities.

Its president is elected alternately from the members of the National Council and the members of the Council of States.

It shall submit applications for pardons to the Federal Council, which provides it with a report and a proposal thereon.

It may inspect the application and the files on the investigation, the court proceedings and the execution of the judgement.

The Judiciary Committee is responsible for the preparation for the appointment and removal from office of:

1. judges of the federal courts;

2. members of the Supervisory Authority for the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland;

3. the Attorney General of Switzerland and the deputies of the Attorney General of Switzerland;

4. ⁵²the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (the Commissioner).⁵³

It issues public invitations for applications for vacant positions as federal judges, the Attorney General of Switzerland, the deputies of the Attorney General of Switzerland and the Commissioner.⁵⁴ If the law permits part-time positions, the level of occupation is stated in the invitation to apply.⁵⁵

The Judiciary Committee submits its election nominations and proposals for removal from office to the United Federal Assembly.

It determines the details of the employment contracts of the judges, the Attorney General of Switzerland, or the deputies of the Attorney General of Switzerland.⁵⁶

Each parliamentary group has the right to at least one seat on the Committee.

The Control Committees and the Finance Delegation shall notify the Judiciary Committee of findings that raise serious questions as to the professional or personal suitability of judges, the Attorney General of Switzerland, the deputies of the Attorney General of Switzerland, and the Commissioner.⁵⁷

Unless otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of the standing orders of the National Council apply by analogy to the procedure in the United Federal Assembly.

The tellers and the substitute tellers of the two councils determine the results of elections and votes.

If the standing orders of the National Council do not apply, the United Federal Assembly may draw up its own regulations.

Parliamentary groups are composed of the assembly members who belong to the same party.

Members who do not belong to a party or who belong to more than one party may, provided they share similar political views, form their own parliamentary groups.

A parliamentary group must consist of a minimum of five members from one of the two councils.

Each parliamentary group must notify the General Secretary of the Federal Assembly of its formation, its members, its chairperson and its secretary.

Parliamentary groups conduct a preliminary discussion of the business to be submitted to the councils.

They have the right to submit parliamentary initiatives, parliamentary procedural requests, proposals and election nominations.

The standing orders may provide for further rights for parliamentary groups.

Parliamentary groups may establish their own secretariats. These receive the same documents as the assembly members and are subject to official secrecy in accordance with Article 8.

Parliamentary groups shall receive a subsidy to cover the costs of their secretariats. The details of the foregoing are regulated by the Parliamentary Resources Act of 18 March 1988⁷⁶.

Assembly members who share an interest in a specific matter may join together to form a cross-party group. These groups must be open to all assembly members.

The groups must notify the Parliamentary Services of their formation and of their members. The Parliamentary Services keeps a public register of cross-party groups.

The cross-party groups are entitled, as far as possible, to administrative assistance and to conference rooms.

They are not entitled to act as the representatives of the Federal Assembly.

The Parliamentary Services assist the Federal Assembly in the fulfilment of its duties.

They carry out the following tasks:

• a. they plan and organise the sessions and the meetings of the committees;

• b. they are responsible for providing secretarial services, carrying out translation work and taking the minutes of the resolutions and debates of the councils, the United Federal Assembly and the committees;

• c. they keep records and offer services in relation to records and information technologies;

• cbis. ⁷⁷they operate information systems used to evaluate data for the fulfilment of the tasks of the Federal Assembly, its organs and the members of the councils; this data processing may also include particularly sensitive personal data; a Federal Assembly ordinance shall specify the sources used for this purpose and regulate access authorisations and how this data may be disclosed;

• d. they advise the assembly members, and in particular the Presiding Colleges of the councils and the chairpersons of the committees on factual and procedural matters;

• e. they inform the general public about the Federal Assembly and its activities;

• f. they assist the Federal Assembly in its activities with regard to international relations;

• g. subject to the reservation of the competencies of the organs of the councils, they are responsible for all other tasks relevant to the administration of Parliament.

The Parliamentary Services are subject to the supervision of the Administration Delegation.

The General Secretary of the Federal Assembly is responsible for the management of the Parliamentary Services.

If offices of the Parliamentary Services act for organs of the Federal Assembly, then they work in accordance with their instructions.

Organs of the Federal Assembly as well as the General Secretary of the Federal Assembly are authorised by an ordinance of the Federal Assembly to appoint the staff of the Parliamentary Services.

The offices of the Parliamentary Services have the same rights to information as the organs of the Federal Assembly on behalf of which they are acting.

The organs of the Federal Assembly, and the Parliamentary Services when acting on their behalf, may call on the services of offices of the Federal Administration in order to fulfil their duties.

Such involvement must take place with the consent of the appropriate Department or of the Federal Chancellery.

In the event of any disagreement, the Administration Delegation shall decide after consulting the Federal Council.

The right to use the Assembly chambers is regulated by the Presidents of the councils, and the right to use the other premises of the Federal Assembly and the Parliamentary Services is regulated by the Administration Delegation.

Each assembly member may have an entry pass issued for a specified period to any two persons who wish to have access to the parts of the Parliament Building that are not accessible to the public. The details of these persons and their functions must be recorded in a register that is available for public inspection.

The Federal Assembly shall enact in the form of ordinances of the Federal Assembly the implementing regulations that determine the rules for the administration of Parliament.

Unless an ordinance of the Federal Assembly provides otherwise, the implementing regulations of the Federal Council or of any of its subordinate offices that apply to the Federal Administration are applied in the administration of Parliament.

Powers that are accorded to the Federal Council or to any of its subordinate offices by such implementing regulations shall be exercised by the Administration Delegation or General Secretary of the Federal Assembly.

Business in the Federal Assembly includes in particular:

1. drafts made by its committees or by the Federal Council of legislative enactments of the Federal Assembly;

2. parliamentary initiatives and motions of its members, parliamentary groups and committees as well as cantonal initiatives;

3. reports from its committees or from the Federal Council;

4. nominations for elections and proposals relating to the confirmation of election nominations;

5. proposals relating to procedure made by its members, parliamentary groups, committees or by the Federal Council;

6. declarations of the councils or of the Federal Council;

7. petitions and submissions;

8. appeals, applications and objections.

Business originating from members or organs of the councils shall become pending in the councils on its submission to the Parliamentary Secretariat.

Popular initiatives and requests made by a canton for the guarantee of its constitution shall become pending in the Assembly on their submission to the Federal Chancellery.

Other business shall become pending in both councils of the Federal Assembly on its submission to the Assembly.

Business may be withdrawn by its originator at any time before either council has taken a decision thereon for the first time.

A parliamentary initiative or a cantonal initiative may no longer be withdrawn after it has been endorsed by a committee entrusted with its preliminary examination.

The Federal Council may not withdraw business that it has introduced.

Each council shall consider and decide first of all whether it wishes to approve the introduction of a bill (introductory debate).

If it approves the introduction of a bill, it must thereafter examine the enactment article by article (detailed consideration).

Introduction shall be mandatory in the case of popular initiatives, budgets, annual reports, accounts, objections to treaties between cantons or between cantons and foreign states, the guarantee of cantonal constitutions, and in relation to the legislature plan and the financial plan.⁷⁹

After the conclusion of the first detailed consideration, a vote is taken in each council on the text in its entirety. If approval of introduction is mandatory, no vote is taken on the text in its entirety other than in the case of budgets and accounts.

If a bill is rejected by a council in the vote on the entire text, this is equivalent to non-approval of introduction. The rejection of a budget or of accounts in the vote on the entire text is equivalent to a referral back to the Federal Council.

If a bill is approved for introduction, it may be abandoned at the request of the committee responsible for the preliminary examination or the Federal Council if it has become unnecessary.⁸⁰

Either council may refer a bill that it has approved for introduction, or any other item of business, back to the Federal Council or the committee entrusted with its examination for review or amendment.

It may also refer individual sections or provisions for review at a later stage in the deliberations.

The proposal for referral must indicate what should be reviewed, amended or added.

Any assembly member may submit proposals on a pending matter for consideration in the council and in the committee responsible for the preliminary examination. He or she may apply to the relevant committee for the submission of a parliamentary initiative or of a committee motion.

A bill may only be submitted with a proposal if thereby:

1. a pending bill is to be divided up;

2. a counter-proposal is to be made to a popular initiative on the same constitutional issue (Art. 101).⁸¹

Proposals that relate to procedure (points of order) must normally be dealt with immediately.

A reconsideration of any decision made may be requested by means of a point of order until a council has concluded its deliberations on an item of business.⁸²

A point of order requesting the reconsideration of a decision on introduction is not permitted.⁸³

A point of order requesting the repeat of a vote concluding the Council’s deliberations on an item of business may only be made immediately after the vote.⁸⁴

Proposals that have been rejected by the majority of a committee may be submitted as minority proposals.

Where it is intended that a draft Federal Act be declared urgent, the urgency clause shall be exempted from the vote on the enactment in its entirety.

A decision on the urgency clause may be made only after a successful resolution of differences.

If the urgency clause is rejected, the Drafting Committee shall correct the wording of the provisions on the referendum and its entry into force after consulting the presidents of the committees entrusted with the preliminary examination.⁸⁵

Where a question may be divided into more than one part, each part may, on request, be voted on separately.

If two proposals in respect of the same subject matter have been submitted and they either relate to the same part of the text or mutually exclude each other, a vote is held on which of the two is to be accepted.

If it is not possible to vote on which proposal to accept, then the proposals shall be voted on individually.

No vote is held on unopposed proposals.

The number of votes is always counted in the case of:

1. votes on entire bills;

2. votes on a compromise motion;

3. votes on provisions requiring the agreement of a majority of the members of each of the two parliamentary councils (Art. 159 para. 3 Cst.);

4. final votes.⁸⁶

If more than two proposals have been made on the same subject matter, then an elimination vote must be held until a vote can be held on which of two proposals is to be accepted.

The order of voting on the proposals must be structured in such a way that a vote is held first on the proposals that differ the least from each other in content, working through the proposals until those that differ the most are reached.

If it is not possible to decide on the order of voting according to the criteria laid down in paragraph 2, an elimination vote is held dealing firstly with the proposals of the assembly members, then the proposals of the committee minorities and finally the proposal of the Federal Council. A vote is then held to decide between the proposal that wins the elimination vote and the proposal of the committee majority.

The order of voting on the proposals may not be altered by a contingent proposal.⁸⁷

The Council President shall not participate in the vote. In the event of a tie, the President shall have the casting vote.

If the agreement of the majority of the members of each council is required, the Council President shall participate in the vote.

A final vote shall be held on:

1. a federal act;

2. an ordinance of the Federal Assembly;

3. a federal decree that is subject to a mandatory or an optional referendum.⁸⁸

The final vote shall be held as soon as the councils have reached unanimous decisions on the bill and have approved the wording revised by the Drafting Committee. The two councils shall hold the final vote on the same day.⁸⁹

If both councils approve the bill then the enactment has been passed by the Federal Assembly.

If one or both councils reject the bill then the enactment is not passed.

The standing orders of the councils shall determine the cases in which the result of the vote is published in the form of a list of members’ names with the votes they cast.

A parliamentary initiative may be used to propose that committee prepare a draft Federal Assembly bill.

The reasons for the parliamentary initiative must be stated. The statement of reasons must in particular include the aims of the bill.

A committee may submit a bill to its Council by means of a parliamentary initiative.

The parliamentary initiative of a council member or of a parliamentary group shall be inadmissible if it relates to matters that may be submitted as a proposal relating to a bill pending before the Federal Assembly. The Office of the Council may decide on exceptions to the foregoing.

Parliamentary initiatives brought by a council member or a parliamentary group, together with proposals submitted to a committee for the preparation of an initiative by that committee shall be subject to a preliminary examination.

The relevant committee of the council to which the initiative has been submitted shall decide within one year of being assigned the initiative whether to endorse the initiative or whether to instruct its council not to endorse the initiative. If the council follows the instructions of the committee, the initiative is regarded as having been dealt with.¹⁰⁷

The decision to endorse an initiative or to have the committee prepare its own initiative requires the consent of the relevant committee of the other council. This committee shall invite the committee responsible for the initial consideration to appoint a delegation to present its decision. If the latter committee does not consent, the initiative is only endorsed if both councils agree. If the second council does not agree, the initiative is irrevocably rejected.¹⁰⁸

The committee of the other council and, in the event of disagreement, the relevant committees of the councils decide in accordance with paragraph 3 or submit their proposal to their council one year at the latest after the preceding committee or Council decision on the initiative.¹⁰⁹

If the author of an initiative or the request for the preparation of an initiative is not a member of the committee, he or she may participate in the preliminary examination in an advisory capacity at the meetings of the committee of his or her council.¹¹⁰

If the author of an initiative leaves the council and if no other assembly member takes up the initiative during the first week of the following session, the initiative shall be abandoned without a council decision unless the committee has already endorsed the initiative.¹¹¹

An initiative shall be endorsed or a proposal for the preparation of an initiative shall be approved if the need in principle for legislation is confirmed and a parliamentary initiative is judged to be the appropriate course of action.

A parliamentary initiative shall in particular be judged appropriate if:

1. the initiative proposes a bill relating to the organisation or procedures of the Federal Assembly;

2. the Federal Council has not prepared a bill in time, despite a motion being passed to this effect; or

3. ¹¹²the preparation of a bill by this means will probably be achieved more quickly than by a motion.

The committee shall examine how it can prepare the bill in the time required, taking account of the methods at its disposal.

If an initiative is endorsed, the relevant committee of the council to which the initiative was submitted shall prepare a bill within two years.

If the author of an initiative or the request for the preparation of an initiative is not a member of the committee, he or she may participate in the preliminary examination in an advisory capacity at the meetings of the committee of his or her council.¹¹³

The report explaining the committee bill to the Federal Assembly shall fulfil the requirements for a Federal Council Dispatch (Art. 141).

The obligations to conduct an assessment under Article 4 and the obligation to estimate regulatory costs under Article 5 of the Business Cost Relief Act of 29 September 2023¹¹⁴ apply by analogy.¹¹⁵

The committee may involve the Federal Department responsible in order to obtain all the legal and material information required for the preparation of a bill.

It shall submit the preliminary draft and its explanatory report for consultation in accordance with the provisions of the Consultation Procedure Act of 18 March 2005¹¹⁶.¹¹⁷

It shall submit the report and bill that it submits to its Council to the Federal Council at the same time in order that the Federal Council may state its opinion thereon within an appropriate period; excepted from the foregoing are provisions on the organisation or the procedures of the Federal Assembly that are not laid down by statute and which do not directly affect Federal Council.¹¹⁸

In the case of a draft bill under Article 165 or Article 173 paragraph 1 letter c of the Federal Constitution, the deadline for the Federal Council's opinion may be set in such a way that it can be dealt with in the next ordinary or extraordinary session.¹¹⁹

If the Federal Council requests any alteration, the committee shall discuss the opinion of the Federal Council before consideration of the bill in the first council.

If the committee does not submit its bill within two years, the council shall decide at the request of the committee or of its office whether the deadline should be extended or the initiative abandoned.

The committee may request the council to abandon the initiative if:

1. its purpose has been fulfilled by another bill; or

2. the mandate conferred on the committee can no longer be carried out.

If the council approves its committee's bill in the vote on the bill in its entirety, the initiative is submitted to the other council and is further considered in accordance with the ordinary procedure for bills.¹²⁰

If the council does not approve the introduction of its committee's bill or rejects it in the vote on the bill in its entirety, the initiative is regarded as having been dealt with.¹²¹

In the committee of the second council, the draft from the first council is presented by a member of the committee that prepared it.

Any canton may by means of a cantonal initiative propose that a committee prepare a draft Federal Assembly bill.

The reasons for the cantonal initiative must be stated. The statement of reasons must in particular include the aims of the bill.

Cantonal initiatives are subject to a preliminary examination.

For the preliminary examination, Article 110 applies by analogy.

The decision to endorse an initiative requires the agreement of the committees responsible in both councils. If one committee does not agree, the council shall decide. If the council does not agree, the initiative shall go to the other council. The second rejection by a council is final.

The committees are subject to the time limits in Article 109 paragraphs 2 and 3^bis.¹²³

The committee of the first council shall hear a representative of the Canton at the preliminary examination.

If an initiative is endorsed, it shall be reallocated to one of the councils for initial consideration in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 84.

For the further procedure, Articles 111–114 apply by analogy. The abandonment of an initiative requires the agreement of the other council. If the first council decides not to approve the draft of the committee, or if the draft is rejected when voted on in its entirety, this shall be regarded as equivalent to abandonment.

If the Federal Council files an objection to a treaty between Cantons or between a Canton and a foreign state, it shall submit to the Federal Assembly the draft of a simple federal decree on the approval of the treaty.

If a Canton files an objection, the responsible committee of the first council shall submit to its council the draft of a simple federal decree on the approval of the treaty.

Voting in elections in the Federal Assembly is carried out by secret ballot.

The persons elected shall be those whose names are written on more than half of the valid ballot papers.

When determining an absolute majority, uncompleted invalid ballot papers shall not be counted.

If more candidates achieve an absolute majority than there are vacant seats, the surplus candidates with the lower numbers of votes shall be eliminated.

Ballot papers that contain defamatory statements or obviously irrelevant markings shall be declared invalid.

Votes for persons not eligible for election, or who have already been elected or eliminated from the election, together with votes for persons who are not adequately identified are cancelled.

If the name of a candidate is written more than once on a ballot paper, the surplus name or names are deleted.

If the ballot paper contains more names than there are mandates to be allocated, the surplus names are deleted, beginning from the end of the list.

If the number of ballot papers received exceeds that of the ballot papers distributed, the ballot shall be declared invalid and shall be rerun.

The members of the Federal Council are elected by the United Federal Assembly in the session following the general election to the National Council.

The seats are filled individually, one after the other, in the order of the length of period in office of the serving office holders. Seats for which serving members of the Federal Council are standing as candidates are filled first.

In the first two ballots, any person who is eligible for election may be voted for. From the third ballot onwards, no additional candidatures are permitted.

Excluded from the election are:

1. those who obtain fewer than ten votes from the second ballot onwards; and

2. the person who receives the lowest number of votes from the third ballot onwards, unless more than one person receives this same number of votes.

Elections in respect of vacant seats are normally held in the session following receipt of the letter of resignation of the member, following a member unexpectedly vacating his or her seat or following the declaration that the member is unable to discharge his or her duties of office.¹⁴⁹

The newly elected member assumes office at the latest two months after his or her election.

If elections are held to more than one vacant seat, the order in which the elections are held is determined by the length of period in office of the previous office holder.

The President of the Confederation and the Vice-President of the Federal Council are elected from its members individually, one after the other, for a term of office of one year.

Elections to the federal courts take place before the end of the ongoing term of office. Separate elections are held for each of the various courts, as well as for each of the judges and part-time judges.

The elections take place either by means of the re-election of members who are standing for re-election or, in the case of vacant seats or the removal of a member, by means of a supplementary election.

The ballot paper is a list of names of the members standing for election, in the order of the length of their period in office.

The voters may delete the names of individual candidates. Additional names are not taken into consideration. Ballot papers on which all the names have been deleted remain valid and count towards the calculation of the absolute majority.

Only one ballot is held. Candidates who do not achieve an absolute majority may stand in the supplementary election.

Supplementary elections take place if a vacant seat arises or a member is not re-elected.

If by the day before the elections the office the United Federal Assembly has not received more candidate nominations than there are vacant seats, a list of the names of the candidates in alphabetical order shall serve as the ballot paper, or a list without names but with the same number of lines as there are seats to be filled.

In the first two ballots, all those who are eligible for election may be elected. From the third ballot onwards no further candidatures are permitted.

Excluded from the election are:

1. those who obtain fewer than ten votes from the second ballot onwards; and

2. from the third ballot onwards, provided there are more candidates than vacant seats, the person who receives the lowest number of votes, unless more than one person receives this same number of votes.

The president and the vice-president of a court are elected for a term of office of two years. They are elected at the same time on two separate ballot papers.

The Federal Assembly shall conduct other elections provided for by the Constitution or the law in accordance with the rules on the elections to the Federal Council.

The Federal Assembly shall conduct the verification of elections to the extent that this is provided for by the law.

A committee of the United Federal Assembly shall appraise the elections, with the exception of the election of the General Secretary of the Federal Assembly. The committee may for this purpose hear the person whose election is to be verified, together with a delegation from nominating authority. The committee shall request the United Federal Assembly to confirm the election or not.

The United Federal Assembly shall decide by secret ballot and by a majority of its voting members whether the election is to be confirmed or not. If the election is rejected, the nominating authority must hold a new election.

The Federal Assembly shall decide on whether to declare a Federal Councillor or the Federal Chancellor unable to discharge their duties of office.

The Office of the Federal Assembly and the Federal Council shall be eligible to request such a declaration.

Inability to discharge the duties of office must be presumed if the following requirements are fulfilled:

1. owing to serious health problem or other reasons that prevent him or her from returning to work, the person concerned is manifestly unable carry out his or her duties;

2. the situation is expected to continue for a considerable length of time;

3. the person concerned has failed to tender his or her legally valid resignation within a reasonable time.

The United Federal Assembly shall make its decision at the latest in the session following the submission of the request.

The relevant position shall become vacant upon the declaration that the person concerned is unable to discharge the duties of office.

The Federal Council shall submit its bills to the Federal Assembly together with a dispatch.

In the dispatch, the Federal Council shall provide justification for the bill and if necessary comment on the individual provisions. In addition, it shall explain the following points in particular, on condition that it is possible to provide a substantial amount of information thereon:

• the legal background, the consequences for constitutional rights, compatibility with superior law and the relationship with European law;

• abis. the use of Switzerland’s room for manoeuvre in adopting international law;

• ater. ¹⁵²the observance of the principle of subsidiarity in the allocation and performance of state tasks and the impact of the bill on communes, towns and cities, urban agglomerations and mountain areas;

• aquater. ¹⁵³any examination of time limit on the bill;

• b. the delegation of powers provided for in a draft act;

• c. the points of view debated in the preliminary stages of the legislative process and their alternatives and the related position of the Federal Council;

• d. the planned implementation of the enactment, the planned evaluation of its implementation and the assessment of the planned implementation that took place in the preliminary stages of the legislative process;

• e. the coordination of tasks and funding;

• f. ¹⁵⁴the consequences for staffing and finances of the bill and its implementation for the federal government, cantons and communes, the methods for meeting the costs and the cost-benefit ratio;

• g. ¹⁵⁵the consequences for the economy, society, the environment and future generations;

• gbis. ¹⁵⁶the safeguarding of the responsibility and room for manoeuvre of the private individuals affected by a regulation;

• gter. ¹⁵⁷the impact on the need for information and communication technologies and the related expenditure;

• h. ¹⁵⁸the position of the bill in relation to the planning of legislation and the financial plan;

• i. the consequences for gender equality;

• j. ¹⁵⁹the consequences of the bill for the Swiss living abroad.

The Federal Council shall submit to the Federal Assembly:

1. ¹⁶⁰the draft for the Federal Budget;

2. the drafts for the ordinary updates and additional credits, two months prior to the start of the session in which they are to be considered;

3. the state accounts, every year two months prior to the start of the session in which they are to be considered.

It shall accept the drafts for the budget as well as the accounts of the Federal Assembly, the federal courts, the Federal Audit Office, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, the Supervisory Authority for the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland and the FDPIC without modification and incorporate them into its draft budget and the state accounts.¹⁶¹

The Federal Supreme Court is responsible for presenting the draft budget and the draft accounts of the federal courts to the Federal Assembly. The Administration Delegation of the Federal Assembly is responsible for presenting the draft budget and accounts of the Federal Assembly, the Finance Delegation for presenting the draft budget and accounts of the Federal Audit Office, and the Supervisory Authority for the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland for itself and for the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland. The FDPIC shall present the draft of its budget and its accounts to the Federal Assembly.^{162 163}

The Federal Council shall arrange for projections on the expected annual return to be issued as per 30 June and 30 September. It shall notify the Finance Committees thereof.¹⁶⁴

The Financial Plan covers the three years following the year to which the budget relates.

The structure and content of the Financial Plan combine the legislative planning with the financial planning (integrated legislative and financial planning).

The Federal Council shall submit the financial plan together with the draft budget to the Federal Assembly for its attention in the form of a simple federal decree.

The Federal Assembly may add mandates for an amendment of the financial plan to the simple federal decree.

The Federal Council normally fulfils these mandates in terms of the draft budget for the year after the following year.

The Federal Council gives notice of its annual objectives for the next year by the start of the final ordinary session of the year. These objectives must be coordinated with the legislature plan.

The Federal Council shall submit to the Federal Assembly the reports on the conduct of its business in the previous year two months before the start of the session in which they are to be considered.

In its annual report, the Federal Council presents the main aspects of its activities during the financial year. It provides information on whether the main annual objectives for the financial year have been achieved, on the implementation of the legislature plan and of the legislative programme and on the status of the indicators relevant to the general assessment of the situation and the verification of the achievement of objectives. It must justify any divergences from the planned objectives as well as any unplanned activities.¹⁶⁶

The President of the Confederation is responsible for presenting the report of the Federal Council on the conduct of its business to the Assembly, unless the standing orders of the councils provide otherwise.¹⁶⁷

The Federal Assembly shall approve the report by means of a simple Federal Decree.

At the start of each legislature period, the Federal Council shall submit to the Federal Assembly a dispatch on the legislature plan and a draft simple federal decree on the legislature plan.

The simple federal decree shall define the policy guidelines and objectives of the legislature plan and assign to these the legislation of the Federal Assembly that is planned and the additional measures required to achieve each of these objectives.

In the dispatch on the legislature plan, indicators shall be assigned to the objectives that allow the achievement of the objectives to be verified. The dispatch shall also contain an analysis of the situation that is based on the indicators. In addition, it shall provide a summary of all the draft legislation that the Federal Council plans to submit to the Federal Assembly during the legislature period (the legislative programme).

The dispatch shall present the legislature financial plan. This shall set out the financial requirements for the legislature period, and indicate how the requirements are to be met. The objectives and measures of the legislature plan and the legislature financial plan shall be coordinated with each other in terms of subject matter and time scheduling.

The two councils shall consider the legislature plan in two successive sessions.

The standing orders of the councils may provide that:

1. a council, in considering the legislature plan, decides only on proposals and minority proposals made by the committee responsible for the preliminary examination; and

2. other persons entitled to submit proposals must submit their proposals to this committee before the start of the detailed discussion of the federal decree.

In addition to the plans and reports required by the law, the Federal Council may submit further plans and reports to the Federal Assembly for its information or attention.

It may submit to the Federal Assembly the objectives or conclusions of significant plans or reports in the form of the draft of a simple federal decree or federal decree.

The Federal Council shall submit a regular report to the Federal Assembly on Switzerland’s foreign policy.

It shall report regularly to the Federal Assembly on the achievement of the strategic goals laid down for the units that have become autonomous in accordance with Article 8 paragraph 5 of the Government and Administration Organisation Act of 21 March 1997¹⁷⁰.¹⁷¹

Once the European Commission’s legislative proposal for the multiannual financial framework of the European Union has been made available, the Federal Council shall submit a planning report to the Federal Assembly on all its intended associations with the programmes and agencies of the European Union in areas outside of access to the internal market.¹⁷²

The Federal Assembly may also take decisions in principle and planning decisions on important plans and reports in the form of a simple federal decree or a federal decree.

The Federal Council shall submit its dispatches and reports to the Parliamentary Services fourteen days at the latest before the meeting of the committee responsible for the preliminary examination.

The Parliamentary Services shall pass on to the assembly members documents submitted by the Federal Council and by the Federal Administration for the attention of the Federal Assembly or of its committees.

The committees and the sub-committees appointed by them are, for the fulfilment of their duties, entitled:

1. to invite the Federal Council to attend meetings in order to provide information and to request reports from the Federal Council;

2. to obtain documents from the Federal Council for inspection;

3. to question persons in the service of the Confederation with the consent of the Federal Council.

They have no right to information:

1. from the joint reporting procedure or the deliberations in Federal Council meetings;

2. that is classified as secret in the interests of state security or the intelligence services or the disclosure of which to unauthorised persons may be seriously detrimental to national interests.¹⁷³

They shall take appropriate precautions to ensure the preservation of secrecy. They may in particular provide that information that is subject to official secrecy in terms of Article 8 is passed on to only one sub-committee.

In the event of any disagreement between a committee and the Federal Council over the extent of rights to information, the committee may call on the Presiding College of the council to which it pertains. The Presiding College mediates between committee and the Federal Council.

The Presiding College shall have the final decision where there is disagreement between the committee and the Federal Council as to whether the information is required by the committees for the fulfilment of their duties in accordance with paragraph 1.

The Federal Council may submit a report to the committee instead of permitting it to inspect the documents, if there is disagreement between it and the committee as to whether the committee has a right to the information in terms of paragraph 2, where mediation by the Presiding College of the Council proves unsuccessful.

The Presiding College of the Council, when preparing to mediate, may inspect the documents held by the Federal Council and the Federal Administration without limitation.

If the Federal Council is preparing an important ordinance, the committee responsible may request that it be consulted with regard to the same.

If an ordinance requires to be amended or enacted following the adoption of an enactment of the Federal Assembly, the committee shall decide in the vote on the bill in its entirety whether it wishes to be consulted.

The Federal Council shall consult the relevant committees on the draft ordinances and amendments to ordinances that it issues on the basis of Article 185 paragraph 3 of the Federal Constitution or on the basis of a statutory authorisation to deal with a crisis in accordance with Annex 2. If the draft contains information classified as ‘confidential’ or ‘secret’, it shall inform the Finance Delegation and the Control Delegation instead.¹⁷⁴

The Federal Council shall inform the Federal Assembly of the ordinances that it is preparing.

The committees responsible for foreign policy and the Federal Council shall have regular contact with each other in order to exchange views.

The Federal Council shall inform the Presiding Colleges of the councils and the committees responsible for foreign policy regularly, comprehensively and in good time of important foreign policy developments. The committees responsible for foreign policy shall also pass on this information to other committees involved in foreign policy related matters.

The Federal Council shall consult the committees responsible for foreign policy on important plans, on planned changes to the number of Switzerland’s diplomatic and consular representations abroad, and on the guidelines and directives relating to mandates for important international negotiations before it decides on or amends the same. It shall inform these committees of the status of its plans and of the progress made in negotiations.¹⁷⁵

The Federal Council shall consult the committees responsible before it:

1. provisionally applies an international treaty that must be concluded or approved by the Federal Assembly; or

2. urgently withdraws from an international treaty when any withdrawal should be approved by the Federal Assembly.¹⁷⁶

If the committees of both councils are against provisional application or immediate withdrawal, the Federal Council shall refrain therefrom.¹⁷⁷

In urgent cases, the Federal Council shall consult the presidents of the committees responsible for foreign policy. The presidents shall inform their committees without delay.

The committees responsible for foreign policy or other relevant committees may request that they be informed or consulted by the Federal Council.

In addition to the rights to information under Article 150, the supervisory committees have the right to deal directly with any authorities, offices and other agencies entrusted with the tasks of the Confederation and to obtain the information and documents from them that they require in application of Article 156. They may assign the responsibility for individual investigations to their secretariat.

They may obtain information and documents from persons and offices outside the Federal Administration, provided this is necessary for the fulfilment of their supervisory control. Persons outside the Federal Administration who were previously in the service of the Confederation remain subject to Article 156. The right to refuse to testify under Article 42 of the Federal Act of 4 December 1947¹⁷⁹ on Federal Civil Procedure applies by analogy.

They may summon persons required to provide information by means of a ruling issued by the committee president in analogous application of the Article 49, 50 and 201–209 the Criminal Procedure Code¹⁸⁰ and, in the event that such persons fail to appear without excuse, have them brought before the committees by federal or cantonal police officers.

An objection may be filed against rulings on summonses or enforced appearances within ten days with the president of the council to which the committee president making the decision belongs. The objection has no suspensive effect. If the council president holds that the ruling is unlawful or unreasonable, he or she may award the person making the objection compensation in satisfaction. The decision on the objection is final.

Before the supervisory committees question a member of the Federal Council, they shall inform him or her of the subject matter of the questions. They shall inform the Federal Council prior to questioning persons who are or have been subordinated to it. They shall consult with the Federal Council at its request before persons are required to provide information or hand over documents.

Their decisions on exercising their rights to information are final. They have no right to inspect:

1. the minutes of Federal Council meetings;

2. documents that are classified as secret in the interests of state security or the intelligence services or the disclosure of which to unauthorised persons may be seriously detrimental to national interests.

They shall take appropriate precautions to preserve secrecy in accordance with Article 150 paragraph 3. For this purpose, as well as in cases where their rights to information are insufficient for the proper exercise of supervisory control, they may mandate their delegations to investigate any specific issue. They shall issue directives on the preservation of secrecy in their area of responsibility, which shall in particular restrict access to accompanying reports.

No information may be withheld from the delegations to the supervisory committees.

For the purpose of fulfilling their duties, the delegations to the supervisory committees, in addition to the rights to information in terms of Articles 150 and 153, have the right:

1. to obtain:

   1. minutes of Federal Council meetings,

   2. documents that are classified as secret in the interests of state security or the intelligence services or the disclosure of which to unauthorised persons may be seriously detrimental to national interests;

2. to question persons as witnesses; Article 153 paragraphs 3 and 4 applies by analogy to summonses and enforced appearances.¹⁸¹

All Federal Council decisions including the proposals and accompanying reports shall be notified to the Finance Delegation and the Control Delegation as they are made. They shall jointly specify the details on service, inspection and safekeeping.¹⁸²

Federal disciplinary or administrative investigations relating to persons or circumstances that are the subject of an investigation by the Control Delegation may only be commenced or continued with the authorisation of the Control Delegation.

The Control Delegation shall decide on authorisation after consulting the Federal Council.

If there is any dispute as to whether authorisation is required, it shall require the consent of two thirds of all the members of the Control Delegation.

An investigation by the Control Delegation shall not preclude the conduct of civil or administrative proceedings or of preliminary investigations and court proceedings in criminal cases.

Before each hearing, it must be established whether a person is to be interviewed as a person providing information or as a formal witness.

The formal interviewing of witnesses shall be ordered only if the facts of the case cannot be sufficiently clarified by another means. Any person summoned is obliged to testify.

If an investigation is directed solely or mainly towards one person, that person may be interviewed only as a person providing information.

Witnesses must be reminded of their duty to give evidence and their obligation to tell the truth, and persons providing information of their right to refuse to give information. The right to refuse to testify in terms of Article 42 paragraph 1 of the Federal Act of 4 December 1947¹⁸⁴ on Federal Civil Procedure is reserved.

In order to maintain a record of the proceedings, the hearings shall be recorded on audio tape. The transcript of the tape shall be signed by the persons interviewed.

Articles 166–171 apply in respect of the procedure and the rights of the persons concerned.

Persons in the service of the Confederation are obliged to provide information completely and truthfully and to indicate all useful documents.

The right to refuse to testify in terms of Article 42 Paragraph 1 of the Federal Act of 4 December 1947¹⁸⁵ on Federal Civil Procedure is applicable by analogy.

Persons in the service of the Confederation may not suffer any prejudice as a result of making truthful statements to a committee. No proceedings may be taken against them based on statements made to a committee without the prior consultation of the committee concerned.

Persons in the service of the Confederation in terms of this Act are the personnel of the Confederation and persons who are directly entrusted with public duties on behalf of the Confederation. The nature of their relationship with the Confederation is not decisive.

The authority concerned shall have the opportunity to express its opinion before any supervisory committee or delegation thereof issues a report on deficiencies in the conduct of business or in financial management.

A supervisory committee or delegation may make recommendations to the responsible authority that relate to its mandate in the area of supervisory control.

The authority notifies the supervisory committee or delegation of the implementation of the recommendations.

The recommendations and the opinion of the responsible authority are made public unless this is contrary to interests that are worthy of protection.

The head of the department responsible for the field of activity to which the business for consideration belongs shall normally participate in the council meetings.

A member of the Federal Council may be accompanied by persons in the service of the Confederation or by experts. By way of exception, such persons may, at the request of the member of the Federal Council, be permitted to speak on matters that require specialist technical knowledge.

When business is being considered that has been raised by the Federal Council or with regard to which it has expressed an opinion, a member of the Federal Council normally participates in the committee meetings.

The members of the Federal Council may with the agreement of the committee president be represented by persons in the service of the Confederation.

The members of the Federal Council and their representatives have the right to be accompanied by an expert.

The Federal Chancellor is responsible for matters relating to the business of the Federal Chancellery in the Assembly and in the committees.