Article 190 of the
Swiss Federal Constitution
The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; german: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); french: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); it, Costituzione federale della Confederaz ...
states that federal statutes and international law are binding on the
Swiss Federal Supreme Court
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland (german: Bundesgericht, french: Tribunal fédéral, it, Tribunale federale, rm, ) is the supreme court of the Swiss Confederation and at the head of the Swiss judiciary.
The Federal Supreme Court i ...
. In consequence, the courts are not empowered to review the constitutionality of federal statutes, but will, where possible, construe statutes so as not to create a conflict with the Constitution. The courts can suspend the application of federal statutes that conflict with international law, but tend to exercise this power cautiously and deferentially: In ''Schubert'' (BGE 99 Ib 39), the Federal Supreme Court refused to do so because Parliament had consciously violated international law in drafting the statute at issue.
The reason traditionally given for the lack of judicial review is the Swiss system of
popular democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
: If 50,000 citizens so demand, any new statute is made subject to a popular
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
. In this sense, it is the people themselves that exercise review.
The situation described above for Swiss federal law applies ''
mutatis mutandis'' to the constitutional and legal systems of the individual
cantons
A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
. However, owing to the derogatory power of federal law, federal courts as a matter of course exercise judicial review on cantonal law, as well as on federal executive law (ordinances, executive orders etc.).
{{Portal bar, Switzerland, Law
Law of Switzerland
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...