Grand Council (Bern)
| Canton Bern | town hall |
|---|---|
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| Basic data | |
| Seat: | Town hall in Bern |
| Legislative period : | four years |
| First session: | 1294 |
| MPs: | 160 |
| Current legislative period | |
| Last choice: | March 25, 2018 |
| Next choice: | 2022 |
| Chair: | Hannes Zaugg-Graf (glp) |
| A total of 160 seats | |
| Website | |
| www.gr.be.ch | |
The Grand Council ( French : Grand Conseil ) is the cantonal parliament of the Canton of Bern and thus its legislative authority . It meets annually for four (previously five) sessions in the Bern City Hall , which usually last ten days. The 160 members of the council “are elected every four years by those entitled to vote at the ballot box” (last time on March 25, 2018), according to proportional representation .
history
Ancien Régime (until 1798)
The Bernese Grand Council, which was chaired by the mayor , was created as part of the constitutional reform of 1294. Four representatives from each of the four districts elected 50 members of the Grand Council as electors (the “sixteen”) at Easter . The sixteen and the members of the small council did not originally belong to the grand council. With the Grand Council, the commercial townspeople created a counterweight to the Small Council, which was dominated by the urban nobility. Everyone elected had to accept the Bernese citizen right within 14 days (if he did not already have it) and to procure armaments. In the 15th century, membership in the Grand Council was made difficult for the first time by a statute, in which Bern residents had to reside in Bern for five years and Swiss citizens for ten years. The original number of 200 members (“Council of Two Hundred”) gradually increased in the late Middle Ages, at times to over 300 members. While the Red Book contained the statutes of the city, the rules of procedure for the Grand Council were created with the burger points . The business of the Grand Council has been deliberated by the Small Council since 1526. In 1529 the statute was passed that every member of the Grand Council within the city ban should own their own house, and sons in their fathers' house had to own their own house within one year. From 1557, people born out of wedlock were no longer allowed to sit on the council. From 1530 onwards, all members received four Mütt spelled annual salaries and two chunks of attendance fees .
The Grand Council was supplemented annually up to 1619; in the course of the 17th century, the supplementary elections took place less and less, until it was finally decided in 1642 that an election should only be scheduled if the number of members fell below 200. Under no circumstances could more than 300 members be elected. The resident categories of Eternal Inhabitants ( Habitanten ) and Hintersässen , newly created in 1643, could not be chosen. From 1683 onwards, single men who had reached the age of 29 could also be elected. This led to the fact that marriage strategies began to play an important role in the run-up to the citizen occupation (elections). The daughters (“ Berettlitöchter ”) of the sixteen and small councilors, who were allowed to make nominations, were hotly courted in the run-up to the elections. While the "burger" referred to the entire population of the city in the Middle Ages, in modern times at the latest the term meant exclusively the members of the Grand Council. With the council resolution of May 8, 1682, the Grand Council declared itself sovereign and thus wrested sovereignty from the citizenship. The number of eligible genders became increasingly smaller due to co-optation , which in the 18th century at the latest led to displeasure in the non-governing families with civil rights (see Henzi conspiracy ). In 1790 it was decided that the minimum number of genders represented in the Grand Council should be 76. In the late 18th century, elections only took place every ten years or when the number of councilors fell below 200. This led to the fact that resignations (resignations) of older council members were bought. A seat on the Grand Council was a prerequisite for obtaining partially lucrative office positions . With the surrender to France on March 4, 1798, the Grand Council temporarily lost its powers.
Helvetic and mediation time
During the Helvetic there was only the Helvetic Grand Council. One voter for every hundred inhabitants elected eight members of the parishes for the canton of Bern.
As a result of the mediation act , the newly created canton of Bern in 1803 again received its own Grand Council with sovereign power. The council, which now has 195 members, only met every six months, for three weeks at a time. The canton of Bern was divided into five electoral districts, these in turn into 13 electoral guilds. Elections were made every two years in a complicated voting and lottery procedure. All citizens (city and country) aged 30 and over who owned real estate or securities were eligible. As a result, the citizens of the city of Bern were heavily overrepresented with 121 members. 80 members were already represented in the Grand Council before 1798.
tasks
The term of office of the Grand Council begins on June 1st of the year of general renewal elections and lasts for four years, i.e. it ends on May 31st.
Every year the Grand Council meets in Bern for four sessions, which usually last 10 days. Consultations take place in German (dialect or written German) and French with the support of simultaneous interpreters. In committee meetings, however, there is no interpreting; Here the German-speaking council members are obliged to speak German in writing. Minutes are generally written in the language of the person taking the minutes, but a vote is always given in the official language in which it was given.
The Grand Council enacts laws and decrees and approves international treaties and intercantonal treaties, insofar as these do not fall within the competence of the government council.
He elects the President of the Grand Council, the President of the Government, the State Clerk, the President of the Supreme Court and the Administrative Court as well as other members of the court, provided they are not subject to popular election.
The Grand Council is the supreme supervisory authority over the government council, courts and administration. Furthermore, it decides on items that are subject to referendum, decides on conflicts of jurisdiction between the highest cantonal authorities and decides on amnesties and pardons.
In contrast to other cantons, there is no compulsory financial referendum in the canton of Bern for expenses exceeding a certain amount. The Grand Council can therefore decide freely. Rather, it is the case that in the canton of Bern the decision-making power over new expenditures of a one-off kind up to the amount of 1 million francs and new recurring expenditures up to 200,000 francs lies in the hands of the government council (Article 89 of the cantonal constitution).
Article 62, on the other hand, allows for an optional financial referendum, which can only be used for one-off expenses of over two million francs or recurring expenses of over 400,000 francs. A referendum is considered to have taken place in the canton of Bern if the written consent of 10,000 voters has been given within three months.
According to Article 57 of the cantonal constitution, 30,000 voters can demand early election of the Grand Council at any time. Such a template must be voted on within 3 months. If the proposal is accepted, new elections are to be held immediately.
Parties
Swell:
Members
Constituencies
According to the cantonal constitution, mandates are distributed according to the number of inhabitants. For the (French-speaking) Bernese Jura, it is particularly important that it has at least twelve mandates. It also states that the French-speaking minority in the Biel-Seeland constituency must be adequately represented. The constituency allocation is specifically regulated in the Act on Political Rights of 2012 (updated in 2014).
Until the 2010 constituency reform, the canton was divided into eight constituencies. With the reform, the number of constituencies was increased to nine, the limits were adjusted and, on the one hand, the minimum number of twelve representatives for the constituency of Bernese Jura and, on the other hand, the guaranteed entitlement of the French-speaking population in the constituency of Biel-Seeland based on their percentage of the population. The exact number of mandates per constituency is determined by a government council resolution. The last time this happened was on May 15, 2013, based on the population figures as of December 31, 2011.
| Constituency | definition | Seats 2009 | Seats 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernese Jura | Bernese Jura administrative district | 12 | 12 |
| Biel-Seeland | Administrative region of Zealand (= administrative districts of Biel / Bienne and Seeland ) | 25th | 26th |
| Oberaargau | Oberaargau administrative district | 12 | 12 |
| Emmental | Emmental administrative district | 15th | 15th |
| Mittelland-North | northern part of the administrative district of Bern-Mittelland | 20th | 22nd |
| Bern | Resident municipality of Bern | 20th | 20th |
| Mittelland-Süd | southern part of the administrative district of Bern-Mittelland | 22nd | 20th |
| Tuna | Thun administrative district | 17th | 17th |
| Oberland | Administrative region Oberland (= administrative districts Obersimmental-Saanen , Frutigen-Niedersimmental and Interlaken-Oberhasli ) | 17th | 16 |
eligibility
Every council member is obliged to be sworn in. Those who refuse to take the oath or vow renounce their office.
Anyone who is also a member of the government council or a cantonal judicial authority may not belong to the Grand Council; Employees of the cantonal administration and employees of the financial control are also excluded from office as Grand Councilors.
compensation
Regulation until May 2014
Each council member receives an annual flat rate of CHF 2,000. There is also an attendance fee of 170 francs for single, 270 francs for double meetings and 370 francs for triple meetings for attending the meetings of the Grand Council, parliamentary bodies, committees and parliamentary groups. Council members who do not belong to any parliamentary group also receive an annual flat rate of CHF 3,400. There is an expense allowance of 70 cents per kilometer for trips, including travel and accommodation expenses.
In addition, the President of the Council receives additional compensation of CHF 10,000, the 1st Vice-President of CHF 2,000 and the 2nd Vice-President of CHF 1,000. The chairmen of the individual commissions are also compensated at an additional CHF 5,000 per year. In addition, there are further compensation for parliamentary group presidents and members of the office.
Regulation since June 2014
The amended version of the rules of procedure of the Grand Council provides for a fundamental increase in compensation. However, the previous annual flat rate is no longer applicable for each council member.
The attendance fee is now CHF 230 per day. For each additional session on a day - a maximum of four will be compensated - an additional 100 francs is added. These include meetings of the Grand Council, the council bodies or their delegations and the parliamentary groups.
For non-attached members, an additional annual flat rate of CHF 3,500 will still be paid.
There were also changes to the annual compensation for special functions. The President of the Grand Council will continue to receive a lump sum of CHF 10,000 per year, the 1st Vice President will receive CHF 5,000 in future, and the 2nd Vice President CHF 3,500. The other members of the council office receive CHF 2,500. For the presidents of the commissions, it remains at CHF 5,000 per year.
List of members
As of June 15, 2018
See also
- List of the families of the city of Bern eligible for regiment until 1798
- Category with members of the Grand Council before 1798
- List of members of the Grand Council of the Canton of Bern 2010 , list of members as of 2010
- List of government councilors in the canton of Bern
literature
- Edgar H. Brunner: patriciate and nobility in old Bern. In: Bern journal for history and local history. Vol. 26 (1964), pp. 1-13, DOI: 10.5169 / seals-244446 .
- Karl Geiser: The constitution of old Bern. In: Festschrift for the VII secular celebration of the founding of Bern 1191–1891. Schmid, Francke & Co., Bern 1891 ( digitized version ).
- Roland Gerber: God is Burger in Bern. A late medieval urban society between rule building and social equilibrium. H. Böhlaus successor, Weimar 2001.
- Beat Junker : Helvetik, Mediation, Restoration: 1798–1830 (= history of the canton of Bern since 1798. Volume 1). Historical Association of the Canton of Bern, Bern 1982 ( digitized version ).
- Beat Junker: The emergence of the democratic people's state 1831–1880 (= history of the canton of Bern since 1798. Volume 1). Historical Association of the Canton of Bern, Bern 1990 ( digitized version ).
Web links
- Website of the Grand Council of the Canton of Bern
- Member of the Grand Council of the Canton of Bern since 2010
Individual evidence
- ↑ Declaration on proportional representation
- ↑ Geiser 1891, p. 19.
- ↑ Gerber 2001, p. 46.
- ↑ Geiser 1891, p. 96.
- ↑ Geiser 1891, p. 97.
- ↑ a b c d e Geiser 1891, p. 98.
- ↑ Geiser 1891, p. 99.
- ↑ Brunner 1964, p. 4.
- ↑ Geiser 1891, p. 100.
- ↑ Geiser 1891, p. 102.
- ↑ Junker 1982, p. 24.
- ↑ a b Junker 1982, p. 131.
- ↑ Junker 1982, pp. 133-134.
- ↑ Constitution of the Canton of Bern ( Memento of the original dated August 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Art. 57 of the Cantonal Constitution of Bern ( Memento of the original dated August 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Canton of Bern: national and cantonal elections since 1919. Federal Statistical Office, March 26, 2018, accessed on April 16, 2020 .
- ↑ Allocation of seats and parties over time. March 25, 2018, accessed April 16, 2020 .
- ↑ Law on Political Rights , Belex - Collections of Laws of the Canton of Bern, accessed on December 6, 2016.
- ↑ Constituency reform 2010. Amendment of the cantonal constitution and the law on political rights (consultation draft of June 20, 2007) ( Memento of the original of December 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Canton of Bern, accessed on December 6, 2016.
- ^ Government council resolution on the distribution of mandates among the constituencies for the grand elections of March 30, 2014 , Canton Bern Government Council, accessed on December 6, 2016.
- ↑ Swiss Radio and Television SRF: Politician changes party: Suddenly the CVP is again represented in the Bernese Grand Council. Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
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