C. Consultations (Article 14)

The explanatory memorandum makes it clear that the proposal is inspired by the Swiss Federal Act on the Consultation Procedure,^[1] which finds its basis in Article 147 of the Swiss Constitution. In Switzerland, next to initiative and referendum, consultation is another tool to integrate the people in the legislative process. The consultation procedure aims at enabling the cantons, political parties and interested groups and organisations but also individuals to participate in the decision-making process of the Confederation, and is intended to provide information on material accuracy, feasibility and public acceptance of a federal project. Consultation is an important sequence of the legislation process; it gives the interested parties the possibility to intervene at an early stage of the law-making process, to express their views and to defend their interests. For the authorities, it is a means to “feel the pulse” and to judge the prospects of a successful adoption of the law.^[2]

[1] Consultation Procedure Act, CPA, SR 172.061.

[2] See also OECD Reviews of Regulatory Reform: Switzerland (2006), at p. 30.