Title 2 of the Swiss Federal Constitution
Title 2 of the Swiss Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999, entitled "Fundamental Rights, Civil Rights and Social Goals", contains a comprehensive and directly enforceable bill of rights, as well as a set of social goals which the state authorities are to pay heed to. A few rights, notably political ones, are explicitly reserved to Swiss citizens, while all others apply to all persons in Switzerland, including (insofar as possible) legal entities such as corporations. While the 1874 constitution enumerated only a few civil rights, the 1999 constitution explicitly codifies the fundamental rights recognised in the case law of the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. It also incorporates the fundamental rights guaranteed in the European Convention on Human Rights, which Switzerland has ratified. Chapter 1: Fundamental Rights Application and limitation of fundamental rights Articles 35 and 36 contain the general rules governing the application of fundamental rights. According to article 35, "the fundamental rights shall be realized in the entire legal system". This implies that the Constitution's fundamental rights are binding on all levels of state authorities and are directly enforceable in the courts, although the Constitution prohibits judicial review of federal statutes in article 190. Going beyond the classical notion of civil rights as purely defensive rights against the state, though, article 35 also mandates the authorities to give meaning to the fundamental rights in their legislative and executive acts, and to actively protect fundamental rights even to some degree against non-state actors. In between private actors, the fundamental rights do not apply directly. Their "horizontal effect", though, is supposed to be realised through legislation to the extent the rights are suited to application between private persons. Article 36 outlines the circumstances under which the exercise of classical "negative" rights can be limited. Exceptions must be limited to actions against those persons causing a clear and present danger that legislation cannot address in time. Any public interest justifying a limitation of rights must arise from the Constitution or from constitutional statutes. Proportionality requires that a limitation of rights be suitable and required to achieve its goal, and that the degree of limitation is reasonable in view of that goal. Essential guarantees, such as the prohibition on torture, the death penalty and censorship cannot be limited (see also art. 15 ECHR and jus cogens). Human rights and civil liberties The bill of rights begins in article 7 by stating that "human dignity shall be respected and protected". This is a fundamental principle of the state that should inform all of its acts, a guideline to the interpretation of all law, and under certain circumstances a directly applicable fundamental right. As such, it prohibits inhuman treatment and guarantees the right of people to be treated as a subject, not an object. Article 8 establishes equality before the law for all and prohibits discrimination based e.g. on grounds of origin, (perceived) race, sex, age, language, social position, lifestyle (including sexual orientation), personal convictions or disabilities. The principle of