Society

A referendum to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland was submitted in July 2000. The Federal Council holds that banning minarets infringes basic human rights. Moreover, it jeopardizes domestic religious harmony, the Council says. Furthermore, the campaign for banning minarets is an inappropriate infringement on cantonal and communal jurisdiction on zoning and building regulations. Therefore, the Federal Council recommends Parliament to reject the referendum, without offering an alternative proposal.  >more

Euthanasia has a bearing on life – the greatest legal interest of all. That is why it is not the medical sciences, but the democratically authorized legislator who should determine the boundaries between permissible and impermissible killing.   > more

The Federal Registered Partnerships Act enables homosexual couples to formalise their relationship in law. The new Act was passed by the Swiss parliament on 18 June 2004 and adopted by the people and the states in the referendum of 5 June 2005.   > more