A federal decree (German: Bundesbeschluss; French: Arrêté fédéral, Italian: Decreto Federale) is an act that can be adopted by the SwissFederal Assembly in application of a federal law, insofar as the text does not contain rules of law (art. 163 para. 2),[1] meaning that it can only be a decision on the application of general and abstract norms laid down in the law.[2]
The Federal Constitution of 1874 (art. 89 para. 2) introduced the possibility of adopting a federal decree of general application.[3] The difference with an ordinary federal law lies in the "emergency clause" and the limited duration of the decree.[3]
The 1999 Federal Constitution confirmed this configuration, even though the form of a federal law may also be used.[3] The difference lies in the facultative referendum (German: fakultatives Referendum; French: référendum facultatif, Italian: referendum facoltativo, Romansh: referendum facultativ). In the case of a decree, a referendum is only possible if provided for in the Constitution or by law (art. 141 para. 1 let. c);[4][3][2] this is referred to as an administrative referendum.[2] Furthermore, it is not covered by the rule laid down in article 189 of the Constitution concerning an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court.[5]
^Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (Cst.) / Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV) / Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.) / Costituzione federal della Confederazione Svizzera (Cost.) of December 31, 1999, SR/RS 101 (E·D·F·I), art. 141 (E·D·F·I)
^Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (Cst.) / Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV) / Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.) / Costituzione federal della Confederazione Svizzera (Cost.) of December 31, 1999, SR/RS 101 (E·D·F·I), art. 189 para. 2 (para. 2.html E·para. 2.html D·para. 2.html F·para. 2.html I)
Bibliography
Auer, Andreas; Malinverni, Giorgio; Hottelier, Michel (2000). Stämpfli (ed.). Droit constitutionnel suisse [Swiss constitutional law] (in French). Vol. 1: L'État. Bern.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)