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Elected for a year from the seven members of the cabinet, the president is a “primus inter pares” (first among equals). The president chairs government meetings and takes on some representative functions. There are no additional powers to the office.
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In 1515, the Swiss forces were defeated by the French at the Battle of Marginano in Italy. This marked the end of the military policy of the old Swiss Confederation. Switzerland’s neutrality was recognised by the signatory states of the Vienna Congress on November 20, 1815. Neutrality in the international context means the non-participation of…
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Multilingualism is a word describing a situation in which several languages are spoken in a region or state. Switzerland is a multilinguistic state par excellence. There are four national languages: German (63.7% of the population) French (20.4%), Italian (6.5%) and Romansh (0.5%). Nine per cent of the population say their main language is not one…
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Money laundering is the term applied to the act of concealing the origins of money earned through criminal activities and releasing it unnoticed into legitimate business activities. It is most commonly associated with drug trafficking. The Swiss Money Laundering Act of 1998 obliges all financial intermediaries (not only banks) to identify all clients and to…
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The Swiss army functions according to a militia principle. All men liable to do military service undergo basic training and broaden their knowledge and capabilities at regular intervals. According to the federal constitution, the army’s task is to prevent war and contribute to the maintenance of peace. It supports civilian authorities when there are serious…
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International humanitarian law (IHL) is a set of rules that seek to limit the effects of armed conflict. Its principal legal documents are the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which protect wounded, sick or captured members of the armed forces and civilians, and the Hague Conventions, which establish rules for the conduct of war. The Swiss-run…
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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organisation based in Geneva. A Swiss, Henri Dunant, founded the ICRC in 1863. It has a permanent mandate under international law to take impartial action for prisoners, the wounded and sick, and civilians affected by conflict. The ICRC is at the…
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The Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, of which Switzerland is the depositary state, form the backbone of international humanitarian law. The conventions define the treatment of civilians and combatants in times of war and occupation. Henry Dunant, founder of the Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross, initiated the first convention in 1864. The…
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In Switzerland, the cantonal judicial authorities are competent to deal with most criminal proceedings. However, some categories of crime come under the jurisdiction of the federal prosecutor’s office. These crimes include causing explosions, counterfeiting, espionage, organised international crime and financial crime, money laundering, bribery, and offences committed by federal employees in the exercise of their…
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The Federal Police Office works with its international and cantonal partners as a centre for information, coordination and analysis in matters concerning the internal security of Switzerland. In Switzerland, the cantonal police forces are responsible for most criminal investigations. Since 2002, however, the office has been carrying out its own investigations in cases of serious…
