Motion (Switzerland)
In Switzerland, a motion is a parliamentary initiative at the federal, cantonal or communal level that mandates the government to act.
With a motion, a member of parliament demands that the government draw up a change in the law, a resolution under federal, cantonal or communal law, or take a specific measure. This mandate is binding if Parliament approves it.
Details
As a rule, motions are only permitted for areas in which Parliament has an express right to participate. If the government has final authority in one area, no motions (but postulates ) can be submitted. This limitation of the content of the permitted objects of a motion results from the separation of powers . This separation has been abolished at the federal level: "If the Federal Council is responsible for the measure, it takes them (...)."
As a rule, a motion can be converted into the weakened form of a postulate by parliament ; however, only with the consent of the motionaire. With this transformation (in fact a weakening), for example, motions can be "saved" which in the more binding form would not find a political majority in the parliament in question. Furthermore, the conversion is a lifeline for motions, the subject matter of which falls within the sole competence of the government (see previous paragraph). It is even possible to convert “point by point” (see next section). At the federal level, motions can no longer be converted into postulates.
In contrast to other types of parliamentary approaches, a motion can generally no longer be changed after it has been submitted, neither by the motionary nor by the parliamentary decision-making body. However, it is possible (in addition to converting it into a postulate or, of course, withdrawing) to deliberate a motion “point by point” and z. B. to transfer only single items to the government and reject others; However, it is up to the motionaire to break down his proposal into individual "points" before submitting it. Even the «point by point» conversion into a postulate is permissible. At the federal level, the second chamber of parliament, which deals with a motion, can change the text. Then this modified motion must be returned to the first chamber, where it can be accepted or rejected.
In addition to the individual members of parliament, the political groups in a parliament and the standing parliamentary commissions are also authorized to submit motions.
The text of a motion at federal level may contain a maximum of 2400 characters, including spaces.
In some cantons and communes, a certain number of voters can even submit motions in parliament; this particular instrument is called the Volksmotion and is treated like any other motion.
See also
literature
- Parliamentary law and parliamentary practice of the Swiss Federal Assembly. Commentary on the Parliament Act (ParlG) of December 13, 2002. Edited by Martin Graf, Cornelia Theler, Moritz von Wyss; Scientific staff: Nicole Schwager; Scientific Advisory Board: Wolf Linder, Georg Müller, René Rhinow. Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel 2014, ISBN 978-3-7190-2975-3 .
Web links
- Motion in: Parliamentary Dictionary (parlament.ch)
- Motion, Art. 120-122 , Parliament Act (SR 171.10)
- Infographic: The procedure for a motion