Switzerland is not only one of the oldest democracies in the world, but also an enduring model of a peaceful multiethnic polity, characterized by a Constitution which is in constant flux. The new Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation took effect on 1 January 2000, and it is with the intention of staying abreast of the constitutional changes and of the case law of the Federal Court that the authors have prepared the current volume.

A general introduction of the constitutional history and the foundations of the Swiss political system is followed up by: Sources of Swiss Constitutional Law; Organizational Design of the Swiss Confederation; Federalism in General and the Position of the Cantons and the Municipalities in the Swiss Confederation; Citizenship, Fundamental Rights and Liberties and their Judicial Protection, Protection of Minorities, Judicial Control of Administrative Action; Treaty and Foreign Affairs Powers, Taxing and Spending Powers, the Relationship between the State and the Church.

Thomas Fleiner is Professor of constitutional and administrative law and Director of the Institute for Federalism at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland; Alexander Misic, lic.iur., LL.M.; Nicole Töpperwien, Dr. iur., LL.M.