Municipal Parliament

The municipal council is in so-called "extraordinary organized" political communities of Switzerland , the popularly elected quasi- legislative . In the so-called "orderly organized" communities corresponds to the municipal council, the municipal assembly , an all voting residents accessible meeting.

Due to the federal system of Switzerland, the form, function, working method, term of office and legal basis of the municipal parliaments are different from canton to canton. The number of seats varies between 9 and 125; the vast majority of these parliaments are elected by proportional representation, a few by majority . The powers of the municipal parliaments are regulated by cantonal laws and the communal municipal ordinances (municipal constitutions).

While in German-speaking Switzerland municipal parliaments mainly occur in municipalities with a large population, and thus the vast majority of municipalities know the municipal assembly (even those with well over 10,000 inhabitants), municipal parliaments are much more common in Latin Switzerland . In the cantons of Geneva and Neuchâtel , they are even mandatory for all municipalities. A little more than a third of all municipal parliaments in Switzerland are in the canton of Vaud .

tasks

The tasks and competencies of the municipal parliaments vary greatly depending on the canton. Most of them have final authority on budget issues and basic community decrees. In addition, the members of most councils can issue tasks through motions , interpellations and small inquiries from the executive, suggest the drafting of municipal decrees, set the tax rate , inquire about facts or decide on naturalization . After all, they take control of the executive and are electoral bodies for various municipal offices.

In almost all municipalities, decisions on basic municipal decrees are subject to an optional referendum . Changes to the municipal code (municipal constitution) usually require an obligatory referendum , in some places as well as resolutions on expenditure above a certain level and the annual municipal budget.

Designations

Depending on the canton, the municipal parliaments have different names. In some cases, there is even no uniform regulation within a canton, depending on how much leeway the cantonal legislation allows the municipalities. In the German-speaking Switzerland , for example, "Einwohnerrat," "General," "council", "Large council" or "City Council" familiar in the Romandie "Conseil communal", "Conseil général" or "Conseil municipal" in the Italian part of Switzerland ' Consiglio comunale ». In general, the collective term «municipal parliament» is common in political science . This is absolutely correct, especially from an international perspective, since in Switzerland's federal system there are also regulatory and supervisory tasks at the local level. Thus the municipal parliaments do not have a purely consultative or informative function as in other countries.

Historical development

In the “orderly organization”, community assemblies are the highest organ of a political community and, with their decision-making powers, embody a very far-reaching form of direct democracy and local self-government . Since the High Middle Ages, they have gradually developed into their present-day, sometimes differently designed forms. On the other hand, there is the “extraordinary organization”, in which a municipal parliament replaces the municipal assembly (or in very few cases supplements it). In the theory of democracy , community assemblies are to be assigned to the radical democratic model, whereas community parliaments are to be assigned to the liberal-representative model. In the former, the citizens participate directly in political decisions, although, in the spirit of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, there is a certain distrust of the delegation of power to representatives. The latter is based on state philosophers such as John Locke , Charles Montesquieu, and John Stuart Mill , who postulate that the delegation of power to representatives is intended to prevent the tyranny of the self-interest majority. While the radical-democratic model is preferred in German-speaking Switzerland, there is a tendency towards the liberal-representative model in Latin-speaking Switzerland. However, both models do not appear in their pure form anywhere, but integrate aspects of the other direction.

While the assembly system developed primarily in the rural communities, complex organizational forms emerged in the cities. These mostly comprised a small council with extensive powers and a large council with a predominantly advisory function. However, these institutions were not democratically representative, especially since the right to vote was severely restricted and there was practically no separation of powers . The modern political community is a product of the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803) and brought equality for all citizens. During the restoration , the cities returned to their previous forms of organization, even if the degree of democratic representation was now consistently higher.

In the German-speaking cities, in addition to the representative body, there were also municipal assemblies with decision-making powers. The revised Federal Constitution of 1874 guaranteed general voting rights at the municipal level. As a result, in the last quarter of the 19th century, the separation of representative bodies (legislative) and enforcement authorities (executive) prevailed. As a result, the cities began to replace their municipal assemblies, which had existed for almost a century, with parliaments, although this process has in part continued to this day. In the French- and Italian-speaking cantons, on the other hand, people began to think back to the achievements of the Helvetic Republic from the time of regeneration and not only introduced municipal parliaments much earlier, but also much more frequently.

There was a large increase in new community parliaments in German-speaking Switzerland in the 1970s. Reasons for this were, on the one hand, the women's right to vote and thus the doubling of the electorate, on the other hand, a certain dissatisfaction with interest-specific mobilizations and influence in the community assemblies, which were often poorly attended at that time. A Swiss peculiarity remains that, despite parliaments, there is no parliamentary system in which the mayor and the other members of the council are appointed by the parliamentary majority. Instead, the executive is determined in its own election and independently of the political balance of power in parliament. Only a few municipalities in the canton of Neuchâtel practice the election of the executive by parliament.

Overview

On January 1, 2019, there were a total of 464 municipal parliaments in Switzerland, that is, around a fifth of all municipalities. Different names are used depending on the canton.

Canton	Municipal parliaments	Designations
Aargau	010	City Council
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	001	City Council
Basel-Country	005	City Council
Basel city	002	Great council, residents' council
Bern	023	German: Municipal Parliament, Great Municipal Council, City Council French: Conseil général, Conseil de ville
Freiburg	021st	French: Conseil général, German: Generalrat
Geneva	045	Conseil municipal
Grisons	017th	German: Municipal Parliament, Municipal Council, Grand District Administrator, Parliament Italian: Consiglio comunale, Giunta comunale Romanesque: Cussegl da vischnaunca, Parliament
law	005	Conseil général, Conseil de ville
Lucerne	004th	Big city council, residents' council
Neuchâtel	031	Conseil général
Schaffhausen	005	Residents' Council, Grand City Council
Solothurn	001	Municipal Parliament
St. Gallen	003	City Parliament
Ticino	100	Consiglio Comunale
Thurgau	004th	Local council, city parliament
Vaud	162	Conseil communal
Valais	011	Conseil général
train	001	Big council
Zurich	013	Municipal Parliament, Municipal Council, Large Municipal Council

Situation in the individual cantons

Aargau

local community	Seats	Population (2017)
Aarau	50	21,268
to bathe	50	19,175
Brugg	50	11,129
Box	40	7922
Lenzburg	40	10,173
Obersiggenthal	40	8568
Wettingen	50	20,721
Windisch	40	7654
Well	40	16'078
Zofingen	40	11'561

All municipal parliaments in the canton of Aargau bear the uniform designation "Residents' Council". Its legal basis is the “Law on Residential Communities” of December 19, 1978, in particular Chapter 2.3 (“The organization with residents 'council”) with paragraphs 52 to 71. According to Section 65, a residents' council must have at least 30 and a maximum of 80 members. In practice, however, a size of 40 or 50 members has prevailed. The resident councils are elected in the same way as the grand council , i.e. every four years according to the proportional representation procedure .

In the municipal structure report from 2013, the government council took the view that a residents' council would make sense for municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants. Of the currently twelve municipalities above this threshold (as of 2017), five are organized with a municipal assembly, while three municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants have introduced the residents' council.

The introduction of parliaments was only possible with the "Law on Extraordinary Municipal Organization" of 1963; before that, even in larger municipalities, there were only municipal assemblies. A further complicating factor at the time was the fact that at least half of the voters had to be present for the meetings to have a quorum . In 1966 five municipalities introduced the residents' council, and ten more followed by 1974. No new councils have been created since then. In contrast, five municipalities abolished their council and returned to the municipal assembly: Aarburg (1972–1989), Neuenhof (1966–1997), Oftringen (1974–1989), Spreitenbach (1974–1985) and Suhr (1974–1981). Attempts to (re) introduce it failed last in 2014 in Rheinfelden and 2015 in Oftringen.

Appenzell Ausserrhoden

local community	Seats	Pop. (2017)
Herisau	31	15,780

In the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Article 13 of the Municipal Act of June 7, 1998 enables the introduction of a municipal parliament. Only the canton's capital Herisau has made use of this possibility so far , where the parliament is referred to as the “residents' council”.

Basel-Country

local community	Seats	Pop. (2017)
Allschwil	40	20,913
Binningen	40	15,580
Liestal	40	14,269
Pratteln	40	16,388
Reinach	40	19'144

The municipal parliaments in the canton of Basel-Landschaft are regulated by the “Law on the Organization and Administration of the Municipalities” of May 28, 1970. Chapter 3.3.2 with paragraphs 112 to 132 describes the “extraordinary community organization” with a parliament instead of a community assembly. There are parliaments in five municipalities and are uniformly called «residents' councils». Section 113 leaves it to the municipal ordinances to determine the size of the parliaments, but they all have 40 members.

In 1972 the six municipalities of Allschwil, Binningen, Liestal, Münchenstein , Pratteln and Reinach introduced the residents' council. Birsfelden followed suit four years later . However, Münchenstein and Birsfelden abolished their residents' council in 1980 and 1992, respectively. To date, Muttenz has no municipal parliament , where its introduction has failed five times (most recently in 2018).

Basel city

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Basel	100	Great advice	171,613
Riehen	40	City Council	21,244

The canton of Basel-Stadt is a special case . According to Section 57 of the cantonal constitution, the canton also handles the business of the community of Basel . Thus, the cantonal parliament, the Grand Council , is also the Basel city parliament. As a result, the MPs from Riehen and Bettingen also have a say in matters that exclusively concern Basel. Until 1875, Basel had its own city parliament. The constitution of 1875 and the municipal law of 1876 allowed Riehen and Bettingen to hold their own municipal assemblies. In 1924, Riehen introduced a parliament instead of the municipal assembly, called the “Further Municipal Council”. With the new municipal law of October 17, 1984, it was given today's designation "Residents' Council".

Bern

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Bern	80	City council	133,798
Biel / Bienne	60	German: City Council French: Conseil de ville	54,640
Burgdorf	40	City council	16'280
Interlaken	30th	Big council	5592
Koeniz	40	Municipal Parliament	41,507
La Neuveville	35	Conseil général	3698
Langenthal	40	City council	15,639
Langnau i. E.	40	Big council	9419
Lyss	40	Big council	14,887
Moutier	41	Conseil de ville	7477
Münchenbuchsee	40	Big council	10'079
Münsingen	30th	Municipal Parliament	12,533
Muri near Bern	40	Big council	13'058
Nidau	30th	City council	6827
Ostermundigen	40	Big council	17,546
Spiez	36	Big council	12,707
Steffisburg	34	Big council	15,816
Saint-Imier	30th	Conseil de ville	5156
Tuna	40	City council	43,743
Tramelan	37	Conseil général	4595
Valbirse	30th	Conseil général	4017
Worb	40	Big council	11'394
Zollikofen	40	Big council	10,314

The canton of Bern grants the municipalities a relatively large amount of leeway in the legal structuring of their parliaments. In the municipal law of March 16, 1998, Article 24 only stipulates that a parliament must have at least 30 members. Otherwise, responsibility, number of members and term of office can be freely determined in the organizational regulations. Almost half of the parliaments (11 out of 23) have chosen 40 members. A special feature is the parliament of Spiez : Here the municipal regulations stipulate that the districts of Einigen , Hondrich, Faulensee and Spiezwiler each have the right to a minimum of two seats.

The designation also differs from place to place. In German they are called “Municipal Parliament”, “Grosser Gemeinderat” or “Stadtrat”, in French either “Conseil général” (General Council) or “Conseil de ville” (City Council). In comparison to other German-speaking cantons, municipal parliaments are relatively frequent in the canton of Bern. Currently (2019) Belp and Ittigen are the only communities with more than 10,000 inhabitants that continue to hold community assemblies. On the other hand, there are eight parliamentary communities below this threshold, five of them in the Bernese Jura .

Freiburg

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Attalens	30th	Conseil général	3427
Avry	30th	Conseil général	1880
Belfaux	30th	Conseil général	3338
Belmont-Broye	60	Conseil général	5'425
Cop	50	Conseil général	22,709
Châtel-Saint-Denis	50	Conseil général	6723
Cheyres-Châbles	30th	Conseil général	2278
Cugy	30th	Conseil général	2735
Düdingen	50	General Council	7823
Estavayer	60	Conseil général	9494
Freiburg	80	French: Conseil général, German: Generalrat	38,521
Gibloux	50	Conseil général	7306
Marly	50	Conseil général	8201
Montagny	30th	Conseil général	2536
Murten	50	General Council	8222
Riaz	30th	Conseil général	2627
Romont	50	Conseil général	5304
Rue	30th	Conseil général	1505
Villars-sur-Glâne	50	Conseil général	12,114
Vuadens	30th	Conseil général	2317
Wünnewil-Flamatt	50	General Council	5558

In the canton of Friborg , the “Law on Municipalities” of September 25, 1980 deals in detail with the organization of the municipal parliaments, namely Chapter 2.3 with Articles 25 to 53. The parliaments are called “Generalrat” in German and “Conseil général” in French . Article 25 stipulates that the municipalities of Bulle , Châtel-Saint-Denis , Estavayer , Freiburg , Marly , Murten , Romont and Villars-sur-Glâne must have a general council. According to Article 26, all other municipalities with more than 600 inhabitants are free to replace the municipal assembly with a general council. General councilors can have between 30 and 80 members (Article 27), the term of office is five years (Article 29).

The municipality of Belmont-Broye has a special regulation , which was created in 2016 through the merger of several small municipalities. In order to ensure an adequate representation of the individual places, the municipal code stipulates the following allocation of the seats: Domdidier has 30 seats, Dompierre 14 seats, Léchelles 12 seats and Russy 4 seats.

General councils tend to be more common in the French-speaking part of the canton. There is now no community over 5000 inhabitants that still has a community assembly (in the German-speaking part over 8000 inhabitants), and several communities with in some cases significantly fewer inhabitants have decided to introduce the General Council. The German-speaking communities of Wünnewil-Flamatt and Düdingen had temporarily abolished the General Council, but reintroduced it in 2010 and 2015 respectively.

Geneva

In the canton of Geneva , the Municipal Administration Act of April 13, 1984 (Loi sur l'administration des communes) regulates the rights and obligations of the municipalities. Article 3 prescribes a «Conseil municipal» (municipal council) for all municipalities, there are no municipal assemblies. Article 5 stipulates how many seats a municipal council has. In the smallest municipalities with less than 600 inhabitants, this is 9 seats. This is followed by municipalities with 11, 13, 15 seats etc. up to municipalities with 37 seats and more than 30,000 inhabitants. Deviating from this system, the General Council of the canton capital Geneva has 80 seats. Before each election, the State Council determines the number of seats based on the current number of residents (Article 6).

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Aire-la-Ville 11 1169 Anières 17th 2456 Avully 15th 1763 Avusy 13 1434 Bardonnex 17th 2215 Bellevue 19th 3322 Bernex 23 10,007 Carouge 31 22,336 Cartigny 13 956 Celigny 11 787 Chancy 13 1691 Chêne-Bougeries 25th 11,862 Chêne-Bourg 23 8708 Choulex 13 1149 Collex Bossy 15th 1687

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Collonge-Bellerive 21st 8126 Cologny 19th 5531 Confignon 19th 4618 Corsier 15th 2071 Dardagny 13 1861 Geneva 80 200'548 Genthod 17th 2779 Gy 09 481 Hermance 13 1036 Jussy 13 1294 Laconnex 11 682 Lancy 35 31,942 Le Grand-Saconnex 25th 12,131 My 15th 2141 Meyrin 33 24,144

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Onex 29 18,977 Perly-Certoux 17th 3074 Plan-les-Ouates 25th 10,697 Pregny-Chambésy 19th 3970 Presinge 11 687 Puplings 17th 2430 Russian 09 548 Satigny 19th 4109 Soral 11 822 Thônex 27 14'091 Troinex 17th 2412 Vandœuvres 17th 2504 Vernier 37 35,132 Versoix 27 13,329 Veyrier 25th 11'540

Grisons

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Arosa	14th	Municipal Parliament	3185
Breil / Brigels	13	Cussegl da vischnaunca	1248
Chur	21st	Municipal council	35,038
Davos	17th	Great District Administrator	10,937
Disentis / Mustér	14th	Cussegl da vischnaunca	2092
Domat / Ems	15th	Municipal council	8070
Grono	15th	Consiglio Comunale	1373
Ilanz / Glion	25th	houses of Parliament	4704
Klosters-Serneus	15th	Municipal council	4437
Mesocco	21st	Consiglio Comunale	1374
Poschiavo	16	Giunta comunale	3516
Roveredo	21st	Consiglio Comunale	2483
Samnaun	09	Municipal council	762
St. Moritz	17th	Municipal council	4994
Trun	15th	Cussegl da vischnaunca	1172
Tujetsch	11	Cussegl da vischnaunca	1256
Vaz / Obervaz	15th	Municipal council	2721

The municipalities in the canton of Graubünden have a lot of leeway when it comes to structuring their parliaments . The municipal law of October 17, 2017 only makes a few provisions of a general nature in this regard and largely leaves the regulation of the details to the municipal constitutions. This results in a large number of different powers, terms of office, number of seats and designations (in German, Italian and Romansh). What all parliaments have in common is that they are comparatively small (none has more than 25 seats).

This diversity allows for some unusual approaches. In the communities of St. Moritz and Trun there is both a parliament and a community assembly, which together form the legislature and have different powers. In Breil / Brigels , the parliament puts forward motions and makes proposals which then have to be approved by the municipal assembly.

Two municipalities have special requirements for the composition of parliament. In Arosa, seven seats are allocated to the capital of the same name, while seven seats are reserved for the towns of Calfreisen , Castiel , Langwies , Lüen , Molinis , Peist and St. Peter-Pagig, which were incorporated in 2013 . Ilanz / Glion , which also emerged from a merger in 2014, takes a similar approach : ten seats are allocated to the city of Ilanz , two each to the towns of Castrisch , Rueun and Ruschein and one each to Duvin , Ladir , Luven , Pigniu , Pitasch , Riein , Schnaus , Sevgein and Siat . The nine-member parliament in Samnaun is the smallest in Switzerland.

law

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Delémont	41	Conseil de ville	12,625
Haute-Sorne	33	Conseil général	6928
Les Bois	21st	Conseil général	1248
Porrentruy	41	Conseil de ville	6809
Val Terbi	23	Conseil général	2698

Articles 85 and 86 of the Municipal Law (Loi sur les communes) of 9 November 1978 deal with the municipal parliaments in the canton of Jura . They only make general guidelines and leave the details to the municipalities to regulate. The only mandatory requirement is that a parliament must have at least 21 seats. In the cities of Delémont and Porrentruy the name “Conseil de ville” (city council) applies, in the three other parishes “Conseil général” (general council).

Lucerne

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Emmen	40	City Council	30,682
Horw	30th	City Council	13,915
Kriens	30th	City Council	26,997
Lucerne	48	Great city council	81,401

In the canton of Lucerne , the municipal law of May 4, 2004 regulates the organization of the municipalities. Paragraph 12 stipulates that a parliament can be introduced instead of the municipal assembly and that it must be elected every four years by proportional representation. Clause 13 lists non-transferable powers and business that are subject to an optional referendum. All other requirements are set out in the municipal ordinances. With the exception of Ebikon , all municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants have a parliament; this is usually called the “residents' council”, in the canton capital of Lucerne it is called the “large city council”.

Neuchâtel

In the canton of Neuchâtel , the municipal law of December 21, 1964 (Loi sur les communes) regulates the rights and obligations of the municipalities. Article 14 prescribes a "Conseil général" (General Council) for all municipalities, there are no municipal assemblies. Article 25 sets the term of office at four years. The law does not specify the number of seats, but the size of the parliament is based on the number of inhabitants and ranges from 11 to 41 seats. Enges with 274 inhabitants (2017) is the smallest parish in Switzerland.

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Boudry 41 6124 Bread plamboz 15th 263 Corcelles-Cormondrèche 41 4740 Cornaux 25th 1586 Cortaillod 41 4774 Cressier 29 1873 Narrow 11 274 Hauterive 31 2650 La Brévine 13 627 La Chaux-de-Fonds 41 39,796 La Chaux-du-Milieu 13 495 La Cote-aux-Fées 11 435 La Grande Béroche 41 8964 Lasagne 19th 966 La Tène 41 4954 Le Cerneux-Péquignot 11 317

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Le Landeron 41 4647 Le Locle 41 10,389 Les Brenets 19th 1048 Les Planchettes 11 205 Les Ponts-de-Martel 25th 1275 Les Verrières 15th 718 Lignières 17th 952 Milvignes 41 9008 Neuchâtel 41 33,578 Peseux 41 5825 Rochefort 23 1266 Saint Blaise 41 3230 Val-de-Ruz 41 16,907 Val-de-Travers 41 10,745 Valangine 15th 504

Schaffhausen

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Ringing	13	City Council	4643
Neuhausen am Rheinfall	20th	City Council	10,454
Schaffhausen	36	Great city council	36,332
Stone at the Rhein	15th	City Council	3376
Thayngen	15th	City Council	5445

The canton of Schaffhausen regulates the community organization in the community law of August 17, 1998. Articles 39 to 48 deal with the "orderly organization" for communities with parliament (unlike other cantons in which parliaments are "extraordinary"). Article 39 stipulates that a parliament must have at least twelve seats. Article 40 leaves the municipalities free to elect their parliament by proportional or majority voting; only Stein am Rhein makes use of the latter option . According to Article 49, municipalities with less than 6,000 inhabitants can provide in their municipal constitution to maintain the municipal assembly in addition to the residents' council, which is currently not the case anywhere.

In the municipal law, the term “residents' council” is used uniformly; however, the canton capital Schaffhausen deviates from it for historical reasons and calls its parliament the “Grand City Council”. The community of Neunkirch abolished its residents' council in 2013 and has returned to the community assembly.

Solothurn

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Olten	40	Municipal Parliament	18,389

Paragraphs 77 to 95 of the Municipal Act of February 16, 1992 regulate the “extraordinary municipal organization” in the canton of Solothurn . Section 91 allows the introduction of a community parliament with at least 20 members, although only the city of Olten has made use of this option to date . A mixed form is typical for larger municipalities, in which, in addition to the municipal assembly, there is also a municipal council that exercises both legislative and executive functions. In such cases, the municipal council has an unusually large number of members: In Grenchen , for example, there are 15, in the canton capital Solothurn even 30 (plus 15 substitute members).

St. Gallen

local community	Seats	Pop. (2017)
Gossau	30th	18,171
St. Gallen	63	75,522
Wil	40	23,768

The canton of St. Gallen has three parliaments at the local level, all of which are referred to as the “city parliaments”. Articles 28 to 52 of the Municipal Act of April 21, 2009 deal with their organization, which is why they all function according to the same guidelines. Only the number of seats is regulated in the municipal regulations. The St. Gallen municipalities are generally rather skeptical of city parliaments. Five of the eight municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants continue to have a municipal assembly (called “citizens' assembly” there). The city of Rapperswil-Jona , created in 2007 from the merger of Rapperswil and Jona , renounced a parliament. Its introduction was clearly rejected by the citizens' assembly in 2015. This makes Rapperswil-Jona, with around 27,000 inhabitants, the most populous municipality in Switzerland without a parliament. Rorschach abolished his parliament in 2004 after 95 years of existence.

Ticino

In the canton of Ticino , the Municipal Organization Act of March 10, 1987 (Legge organica comunale) deals with the municipal parliaments , which are collectively referred to as the “Consiglio comunale” (municipal council). Articles 42 to 79 in Chapter III make precise procedural provisions so that the way of working is the same everywhere. Article 42 stipulates that municipalities with more than 300 inhabitants can convene a parliament and that parliaments in municipalities with more than 5000 inhabitants must have at least 30 seats. The smallest parliaments have 15 seats, the largest in Bellinzona and Lugano 60 seats each. Only 15 municipalities, all with fewer than 1000 inhabitants (2017), hold on to the municipal meeting.

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Acquarossa 25th 1850 Agno 25th 4480 Airolo 25th 1527 Alto Malcantone 21st 1405 Arbedo-Castione 25th 5039 Arogno 21st 1011 Ascona 35 5534 Avegno Gordevio 21st 1479 Balerna 25th 3345 Bedano 25th 1542 Bedigliora 21st 634 Bellinzona 60 43,181 Biasca 35 6126 Bioggio 30th 2647 Bissone 20th 926 Blenio 29 1826 Bodio 21st 1031 Breggia 25th 2033 Brione sopra Minusio 20th 488 Brissago 20th 1758 Brusino Arsizio 20th 485 Cademario 25th 796 Cadempino 20th 1507 Cadenazzo 25th 2932 Canobbio 29 1545 Capriasca 35 6660 Caslano 25th 4330 Castel San Pietro 30th 2130 Centovalli 25th 1151 Cevio 25th 1177 Chiasso 45 8182 Coldrerio 25th 2927 Collina d'Oro 30th 4911 Comano 21st 2032

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Croglio 21st 854 Cugnasco-Gerra 25th 2877 Cureglia 30th 1387 Curio 19th 544 Faido 33 2949 Gambarogno 30th 5137 Giornico 25th 873 Gordola 30th 4673 Grancia 15th 515 Gravesano 21st 1321 Isone 17th 378 Lamons 25th 1780 Lavertezzo 20th 1329 Lavizzara 20th 526 Locarno 40 16,012 Losone 35 6622 Lugano 60 63,494 Lumino 25th 1470 Maggia 30th 2586 Magliaso 20th 1607 Manno 25th 1338 Maroggia 20th 683 Massagno 30th 6268 Melano 25th 1445 Melide 20th 1816 Mendrisio 60 14,914 Mezzovico-Vira 21st 1356 Minusio 40 7226 Monteceneri 31 4502 Monteggio 21st 891 Morbio inferiore 30th 4572 Morcote 20th 725 Muralto 30th 2713

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Muzzano 21st 812 Neggio 17th 317 Novaggio 21st 829 Novazzano 30th 2365 Onsernone 18th 693 Origlio 25th 1471 Orselina 20th 735 Paradiso 20th 4709 Personico 20th 344 Pollegio 21st 757 Ponte Capriasca 21st 1889 Ponte Tresa 21st 795 Porza 26th 1580 Prato (Leventina) 15th 413 Pura 21st 1364 Quinto 21st 1044 Riva San Vitale 25th 2617 Riviera 31 4192 Ronco sopra Ascona 25th 608 Rovio 21st 838 Sant'Antonino 25th 2513 Savosa 25th 2230 Serravalle 25th 2071 Sessa 21st 682 Sorengo 25th 1779 Stabio 25th 4616 Tenero-Contra 25th 3108 Terre di Pedemonte 25th 2598 Torricella tavern 30th 3053 Vacallo 25th 3383 Vernate 15th 583 Vezia 25th 1947 Vogorno 15th 279

Thurgau

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Arbon	30th	City Parliament	14,537
Frauenfeld	40	Municipal council	25,442
Kreuzlingen	40	Municipal council	21,801
Weinfelden	30th	City Parliament	11,388

The legal basis of the parliaments of municipalities in the canton of Thurgau is the “Law on Municipalities” of May 5, 1999, more precisely Chapter 2.2 with Paragraphs 14 to 16. The law only stipulates that a parliament must have at least 20 seats and must leave them the other design of the municipal ordinances. The existing parliaments have either 30 or 40 members and are called “municipal councils” or “city councils”.

Vaud

The canton of Vaud has by far the largest number of municipal parliaments, in a little more than half of all municipalities. More than a third of all Swiss municipal parliaments can also be found in this canton. Their common name is «Conseil communal» (local council). Their duties and responsibilities are regulated by law in the municipal law of February 28, 1956 (Loi sur les communes) . Article 1a stipulates that every municipality with more than 1000 inhabitants must have a municipal parliament; below this threshold the introduction is voluntary. The Vaudois municipal parliaments are larger than average; Article 17 specifies the number of seats in a binding manner: 25 to 45 seats for fewer than 1000 inhabitants, 35 to 70 seats for between 1001 and 5000 inhabitants, 50 to 85 seats for between 5001 and 10,000 inhabitants, and 70 to 100 seats for 10,000 people or more residents. Seven municipalities ( Lausanne , Montreux , Morges , Nyon , Pully , Vevey and Yverdon-les-Bains ) reach the maximum of 100 seats .

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Aigle 70 10,131 Apples 40 1440 Arzier-Le Muids 55 2656 Assens 40 1069 Aubonne 55 3263 Avenches 55 4208 Ballaigues 35 1092 Basins 40 1351 Baulmes 45 1056 Bavois 35 926 Begnins 40 1910 Belmont-sur-Lausanne 60 3655 Bercher 40 1217 Bex 60 7747 Beers 45 1572 Blonay 65 6190 Bogis-Bossey 40 910 Borex 35 1129 Bottens 45 1262 Bourg-en-Lavaux 60 5285 Buchillon 30th 641 Bullet 30th 644 Bursins 35 738 Bussigny 75 8645 Champagne 35 1027 Chardonne 50 2914 Château-d'Oex 60 3433 Chavannes-de-Bogis 40 1336 Chavannes-près-Renens 50 7649 Chavornay 60 4903 Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne 60 4357 Chéserex 40 1220 Chexbres 50 2255 Commugny 50 2848 Concise 35 970 Coppet 55 3152 Corbeyrier 30th 437 Corcelles-le-Jorat 40 458 Corcelles-près-Payerne 45 2443 Corseaux 45 2278 Corsier-sur-Vevey 60 3401 Cossonay 55 3813 Crans-près-Celigny 45 2182 Crassier 35 1153 Crissier 70 8037 Cudrefin 35 1589 Cugy 55 2735 Daillens 45 999 Denges 40 968 Duillier 45 1080 Echallens 60 5732 Echandens 60 2762 Echichens 50 2760 Eclépens 45 1093

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Ecublens 75 12,488 Epalinges 80 9333 Essertines-sur-Yverdon 30th 981 Etagnières 35 1117 Etoy 50 2919 Eysins 40 1601 Faoug 35 895 Forel (Lavaux) 55 2083 Founex 50 3796 Froideville 55 2557 Genolier 45 1937 Gilly 35 1309 Gimel 50 2016 Gingins 40 1210 Givrins 45 989 Gland 75 13,078 Gollion 45 917 Goumoëns 35 1110 Grandcour 30th 888 Grandson 50 3280 Gryon 35 1364 Jongny 45 1550 Jorat-Menthue 50 1529 Jorat-Mezieres 55 2847 Jouxtens-Mézery 50 1469 L'Abbaye 40 1493 La rib 40 1167 La Sarraz 55 2956 La Tour-de-Peilz 85 11,752 Lausanne 100 138,905 Lavey-Morcles 30th 925 Lavigny 30th 1012 Le Chenit 60 4597 Le Lieu 40 860 Le Mont-sur-Lausanne 65 8097 Le Vaud 45 1274 Leysin 45 4032 Ligner roll 25th 416 L'Isle 45 1000 Lonay 50 2491 Lucens 50 4133 Lutry 85 9986 bad 45 2050 Montagny-près-Yverdon 25th 716 Montanaire 60 2596 Montilliez 40 1731 Montreux 100 26,574 Montricher 35 986 Mont-sur-Rolle 45 2708 Morges 100 15,838 Morrens 35 1090 Moudon 55 6187 Noville 35 1054 Nyon 100 20,533

local community Seats Pop. (2017) Ollon 70 7497 Orbe 65 6897 Ormont lingerie 35 1115 Ormont-Dessus 50 1468 Oron 60 5461 Pampigny 45 1126 Paudex 45 1481 Payerne 70 9699 Penthalaz 50 3276 Penthaz 45 1725 Perroy 40 1508 Prangins 55 4072 Préverenges 65 5286 Prilly 75 12,110 Provence 25th 388 Puidoux 60 2902 Pully 100 18'160 Renens 80 21,036 Roche 45 1647 role 55 6218 Romanel-sur-Lausanne 55 3298 Rossinière 30th 543 Rougemont 35 889 Saint Barthelemy 35 771 Saint-Cergue 50 2547 Saint George 45 1028 Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz 65 5163 Saint-Livres 30th 682 Saint-Prex 65 5682 Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux) 30th 395 Saint-Sulpice 60 2437 Sainte-Croix 55 4916 Savigny 60 3348 Servion 50 1901 Sullens 45 1004 Tannay 40 1505 Tolochenaz 45 1879 Trélex 45 1402 Treycovagnes 25th 451 Valbroye 55 3025 Vallorbe 50 3851 Vaulion 28 485 Vevey 100 19,827 Veytaux 35 868 Villars-le-Terroir 35 1151 Villeneuve 50 5673 Vuarrens 35 1033 Vucherens 30th 582 Vufflens-la-Ville 45 1284 Vully-les-Lacs 50 3086 Yens 40 1386 Yverdon-les-Bains 100 30,143 Yvonand 50 3349 Yvorne 35 1051

Valais

local community	Seats	Pop. (2017)
Ayent	30th	3975
Bagnes	45	8100
Collombey-Muraz	45	9018
Conthey	30th	8691
Fully	45	8737
Martigny	60	18,174
Monthey	60	17'563
Saint-Maurice	30th	4595
Sierre	60	16,860
Sion	60	34,599
Vétroz	30th	6268

Municipal parliaments in the canton of Valais are limited to the French-speaking part of the canton, while in the German-speaking part of Upper Valais there are only municipal assemblies to this day (here called “Primary Assembly” or “Assemblée primaire”). The designation of all parliaments is "Conseil général" (General Council), they are legally regulated in Articles 20 to 32 of the Municipal Law of February 5, 2004. While Article 20 allows all municipalities with more than 700 inhabitants to elect a General Council voluntarily Article 21 defines the binding minimum number of seats: 20 seats for up to 1000 inhabitants, 30 seats for 1001 to 5000 inhabitants, 45 seats for 5001 to 10'000 inhabitants and 60 seats for more than 10'000 inhabitants. A maximum of 80 seats are possible.

train

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
train	40	Big council	30,205

The capital Zug is so far the only municipality in the canton of Zug with a parliament. There, in 1963, the “Great Municipal Council” replaced the municipal assembly as the legislative body. The legal basis is the “Law on the Organization and Administration of Municipalities” of September 4, 1980, more precisely Chapter 2.3 (Residential municipalities with large municipal councils) with Paragraphs 104 to 108. Article 104 defines a minimum size of 20 seats.

Zurich

local community	Seats	designation	Pop. (2017)
Adliswil	36	Big council	18,803
Bulach	28	Municipal council	19,888
Dietikon	36	Municipal council	27'079
Dubendorf	40	Municipal council	28,141
Illnau-Effretikon	36	Big council	16,975
Balls	32	Municipal council	19,408
Opfikon	36	Municipal council	19,978
Streaks	36	Municipal Parliament	18,760
Uster	36	Municipal council	34,516
Waedenswil	35	Municipal council	21,792
Wetzikon	36	Big council	24,513
Winterthur	60	Big council	110,912
Zurich	125	Municipal council	409,241

In the canton of Zurich , the municipal law of April 20, 2015 forms the legal basis, more precisely the 3rd section with paragraphs 27 to 37. Section 27 specifies that municipalities can introduce a parliament and that the number of their members is determined by the municipal code . According to Section 31, each parliament regulates its own organization in a municipal decree. For example, the cities of Zurich and Winterthur are divided into nine and six constituencies, respectively, in which votes are taken using the double-proportional allocation procedure . The terms “municipal council” and “large municipal council” have prevailed. With 125 seats, the parliament in Zurich is the largest in Switzerland.

The previously applicable municipal law from 1926 stipulated that Zurich and Winterthur must have a parliament. In addition, parliaments were reserved for municipalities with more than 2000 inhabitants. The latter provision, however, hardly corresponded to political reality, because the Zurich municipalities have been reluctant to introduce parliaments to this day, despite a very high degree of urbanization. Of the 30 communities with more than 10,000 inhabitants (2017), 17 still have a community assembly. After seven unsuccessful attempts, Wetzikon introduced a parliament in 2012, 85 years after the first vote.

Other cantons

There are no municipal parliaments in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden , Glarus , Nidwalden , Obwalden , Schwyz and Uri . In 2010, the municipality of Glarus Nord , which emerged as part of the Glarus municipality reform , introduced a 50-member municipal parliament, but retained the municipal assembly (called the “citizens' assembly” there). Since both bodies acted together as legislature, there were repeated disputes over competence. Finally, on June 19, 2015, the citizens' assembly approved a motion calling for the abolition of the municipal parliament with a clear majority . In 2016, this measure was implemented after a successful referendum.

See also

• Landsgemeinde
• Assembly communities and parliamentary communities in the article Political community

literature

• Andreas Auer : Constitutional law of the Swiss cantons . Stämpfli, Bern 2016, ISBN 978-3-7272-3217-6 , p. 143-149 .
• Andreas Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . Considerations and empirical findings on the design of the legislative function in the Swiss municipalities. In: Cahier de l'IDHEAP . No. 292 . Institut de hautes études en administration publique, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 2016, ISBN 978-2-940390-79-3 ( online ).

Remarks

1. ↑ The widespread designation of the organization with parliament as “extraordinary” and the one without parliament as “ordinary community organization” causes “more confusion than clarity” in a legal comparison; see Auer: Constitutional law of the Swiss cantons. P. 148.
2. ↑ The term “legislature” is to be used with caution at the community level, since there the separation of powers only follows a functional scheme of legislative and executive activities to a very limited extent; see Auer: Constitutional Law of the Swiss Cantons. P. 148 f.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . P. 59.
2. ^ Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . Pp. 2-3.
3. ^ Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . Pp. 5-6.
4. ^ Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . Pp. 60-61.
5. ^ Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . Pp. 61-62.
6. ^ Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . Pp. 62-63.
7. ^ Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . P. 60.
8. ^ Andreas Ladner, Alexander Haus: Municipal Parliaments in Switzerland - Dissemination, Challenges and Approaches to Reform. DeFacto, April 2019, accessed July 1, 2019 . 
9. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t} Permanent resident population by nationality category, gender and municipality, definitive annual results, 2017. (XLS, 183 kB) Federal Statistical Office , August 31, 2018, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
10. ↑ 171.100 - Law on municipalities (municipal law, GG). Law collections of the Canton of Aargau, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Municipal structure report 2013 (PDF, 23.0 MB) Department of Economics and Internal Affairs, Municipal Department, 2013, pp. 12-13 , accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
12. ↑ ^{a b} Urs Hofmann : The residents' council: loss of democracy or gain in democracy? (PDF, 62 kB) Department of Economics and Home Affairs, March 14, 2016, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Beat Kirchhofer: The residents' council as a discontinued model? Zofinger Tagblatt , February 18, 2018, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
14. ↑ bGS 151.11 - Municipal Act. Systematic collection of the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
15. ↑ SGS 180 - Law on the Organization and Administration of Municipalities (Municipal Law). Systematic Collection Canton Basel-Landschaft, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
16. ↑ Benjamin Wieland: The residents' council also fails at the fifth attempt. Basellandschaftliche Zeitung , September 24, 2018, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
17. ↑ SG 111.100 - Constitution of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Systematic collection of laws in the Canton of Basel-Stadt, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
18. ↑ From the medieval committee on call and «councilor regiment» to the highest authority. Grand Council of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
19. ↑ Michael Raith : Community customer Riehen . Ed .: Municipality of Riehen. Riehen 1988, p. 197-199 ( online ).
20. ^ Municipal law (GG). BELEX - collections of laws of the Canton of Bern, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
21. ↑ Municipal Code . (PDF, 293 kB) Municipality of Spiez, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
22. ↑ ^{a b} Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . P. 18.
23. ↑ SGF 140.1 - Law on the municipalities. Systematic collection of laws from the Canton of Friborg, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
24. ^ Autorités communales. Belmont-Broye Parish, accessed July 1, 2019 . 
25. ^ Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . P. 66.
26. ↑ Düdingen says yes to the General Council. Freiburger Nachrichten , June 14, 2015, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
27. ^ Loi sur l'administration des communes (LAC). Législation genevoise, accessed July 1, 2019 (French). 
28. ↑ BR 175 050 - Municipalities Act of the canton of Grisons. Bündner Rechtsbuch (Syst. Collection), accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
29. ↑ organs. St. Moritz parish, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
30. ↑ Las autoridads communalas. Trun parish, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
31. ↑ Municipal Council. Community of Breil / Brigels, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
32. ^ The municipal parliament . Arosa municipality, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
33. ^ Constitution of the community of Ilanz / Glion. (PDF, 104 kB) Ilanz / Glion municipality, 2013, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
34. ^ Loi sur les communes. Recueil systématique jurassien, accessed on July 1, 2019 (French). 
35. ^ Municipal law (GG). Systematic Legal Collection (SRL), accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
36. ^ Loi sur les communes (LCo). Recueil systématique de la législation neuchâteloise (RSN), accessed on July 1, 2019 (French). 
37. ^ Municipal law. (PDF, 135 kB) Schaffhauser Rechtsbuch (SHR), accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
38. ↑ ^{a b} Ladner: Municipal Assembly and Municipal Parliament . P. 69.
39. ↑ BGS 131.1 - Municipal Act. Systematic collection of the Canton of Solothurn, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
40. ↑ Municipal Council. City of Solothurn, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
41. ↑ sGS 151.2 - Municipal Law. Systematic collection of the Canton of St. Gallen, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
42. ↑ Pascal Unternährer: The largest municipality remains without a parliament. Tages-Anzeiger , June 11, 2015, accessed July 1, 2019 . 
43. ↑ No more palaver in Rorschach. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , December 8, 2004, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
44. ^ Legge organica comunale. Raccolta delle leggi del Cantone Ticino, accessed July 1, 2019 (Italian). 
45. ^ Law on the municipalities. Legal Book of the Canton of Thurgau, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
46. ^ Loi sur les communes (LC). (PDF, 125 kB) Canton of Vaud, accessed on July 1, 2019 (French). 
47. ↑ Municipal Law (GemG). Valais collection of laws, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
48. ↑ Great Municipal Council (GGR). City of Zug, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
49. ↑ BGS 171.1 - Law on the Organization and Administration of the Municipalities. Systematic Collection (BGS) Kanton Zug, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
50. ↑ Municipal Law (GG) of April 20, 2015 (PDF, 529 kB) Zurich Collection of Laws (ZH-Lex), accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
51. ↑ Municipal Law (GG) of June 6, 1926 (PDF, 446 kB) Zurich Collection of Laws (ZH-Lex), accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
52. ^ Wetzikon receives a parliament. zueriost.ch, September 23, 2012, accessed on July 1, 2019 . 
53. ^ Glarus Nord abolishes the municipal parliament. Swiss radio and television , June 20, 2015, accessed on July 1, 2019 .