Title 2 of the Swiss Federal Constitution
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| Text of the Constitution |
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Preamble and Title 1 General Provisions |
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Title 2 Fundamental Rights, Citizenship and Social Goals |
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Title 3 Confederation, Cantons and Communes |
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Title 4 The People and The Cantons |
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Title 5 Federal Authorities |
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Title 6 Revision of the Federal Constitution and Transitional Provisions |
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This article is part of the series:
Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999
Title 2 of the Swiss Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999, entitled "Fundamental Rights, Civil Rights and Social Goals", contains a comprehensive and directly enforceable bill of rights, as well as a set of social goals which the state authorities are to pay heed to. A few rights, notably political ones, are explicitly reserved to Swiss citizens, while all others apply to all persons in Switzerland, including (insofar as possible) legal entities such as corporations.
While the 1874 constitution enumerated only a few civil rights, the 1999 constitution explicitly codifies the fundamental rights recognised in the case law of the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. It also incorporates the fundamental rights guaranteed in the European Convention on Human Rights, which Switzerland has ratified.
1 Any limitation of a fundamental right requires a legal basis. Grave limitations must be expressly foreseen by statute. Cases of clear and present danger are reserved.
2 Any limitation of a fundamental right must be justified by public interest, or serve for the protection of fundamental rights of other persons.
3 Limitations of fundamental rights must be proportionate to the goals pursued.
4 The essence of fundamental rights is inviolable.
Articles 35 and 36 contain the general rules governing the application of fundamental rights. According to article 35, "the fundamental rights shall be realized in the entire legal system". This implies that the Constitution's fundamental rights are binding on all levels of state authorities and are directly enforceable in the courts, although the Constitution prohibits judicial review of federal statutes in article 190. Going beyond the classical notion of civil rights as purely defensive rights against the state, though, article 35 also mandates the authorities to give meaning to the fundamental rights in their legislative and executive acts, and to actively protect fundamental rights even to some degree against non-state actors. In between private actors, the fundamental rights do not apply directly. Their "horizontal effect", though, is supposed to be realised through legislation to the extent the rights are suited to application between private persons.
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