The committees responsible for examining the legislative programme are special committees whose task is to study the Federal Council’s proposal in advance and advise their Council accordingly.
As part of the 1999 revision of the constitution, the Swiss parliament decided for the first time ever to play an active role in political planning. The necessary legal basis was established through the Parliament Act which came into force in 2003. At the beginning of each legislative period, the Federal Council now puts before the parliament a programme for the legislative period together with a draft of a simple federal decision. This defines the political outline of the policy and the aims of the legislative programme; at the same time it indicates for each topic the planned paliamentary decrees as well as other measures required to achieve the aims.