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The Federal Assembly, which is the Swiss parliament, is made up of two chambers, namely the National Council and the Council of States, which have the same powers. It is the supreme authority of the Swiss Confederation subject to the rights of the people and the cantons.The National Council and the Council of States sit separately; decisions taken by the Federal Assembly must be approved by both chambers.
On average, members of both chambers devote around 60% of their working hours to their parliamentary duties; most of them have a career not related to parliament. |
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| The National Council |
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The National Council has 200 members who represent the Swiss people. With a population of 7.5 million, there is one seat for every 37,500 inhabitants (resident population divided by 200). Each canton constitutes a constituency and elects at least one member, even if its resident population is less than 37,500.
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| President of the National Council |
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Maya Graf (Green Party / TG)
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| The Council of States |
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The Council of States has 46 members who represent the cantons. The cantons each send two representatives, with the exception of Obwalden, Nidwalden, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden, which each send one. The canton of Zurich, which has a population of over 1 million, elects two representatives as does Uri, which has a population of around 35,000.
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| President of the Council of States |
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Filippo Lombardi (PDC / TI)
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| Parliamentary groups |
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Politically speaking, the Federal Assembly is not divided into parties, but into parliamentary groups. The groups comprise members of the same party or of similarly-platformed parties. A parliamentary group is therefore not necessarily to be equated with a party.
At least five members from the same Council are needed to form a parliamentary group. Only informal groups exist in the Council of States.The parliamentary groups play an important part in opinion-forming processes. They examine the main issues (elections and current issues) before they are submitted to the Councils and attempt to reach a common position, which the members of parliament can defend before their Council, as well as before the media and the general public. In the National Council, members are required to be in a parliamentary group in order to be eligible to sit on a committee.
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| The United Federal Assembly |
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The National Council and the Council of States sit in joint session as the United Federal Assembly, convened by the speaker of the National Council in order to:
- hold certain elections, in particular of the Federal Council and federal judges
- decide jurisdiction in disputes between highest federal authorities
- vote on the granting of pardons
The United Federal Assembly also convenes on special occasions and to hear statements delivered by the Federal Council.
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| The Committees |
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Each Chamber has nine legislative committees and two control committees. The Committes of the National Council are composed of 25 members each, those of the Coucil of States have 13 members.
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| The sessions |
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A “parliamentary session” is defined as the period over which parliament meets to debate. The National Council and the Council of States meet regularly for ordinary sessions. Four ordinary sessions, each lasting three weeks, take place every year. An additional “special” session may be held if the volume of business cannot be dealt with in the ordinary sessions. Each Council may decide independently whether it needs to hold a special session. In addition, one-quarter of the members of either Council or the Federal Council may request that a special parliamentary session be convened.
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| Parliamentary services |
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They are at the disposal of both Chambers and their related offices. They plan and organize the parliamentary sessions and commitee meetings; carry out the business of the secretariats and prepare reports, minutes and translations; procure and archive documents; advise members of the councils on specialised matters and questions of procedure.
The Parliamentary Services are directed by the Secretary-General of the Federal Assembly, Christoph Lanz.
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