Act on Public Statistics (Statistikgesetz, StatG) - Subject and Purpose (StatG)

1. This law governs the public statistics of the canton.

2. It aims to

a) provide the canton with the statistical results that it requires as a basis for decision-making to fulfill its duties (canton statistics),

b) ensure the participation of the canton in federal statistics,

c) provide the public, municipalities, the economy, and social partners with statistical results or guarantee access to them,

d) organize the canton statistics in a way that data collection and processing are efficient and considerate to those affected,

e) promote cooperation with municipalities, cantons, the federal government, and foreign countries in the field of public statistics,

f) ensure data protection concerning public statistics.

**1. This Act applies to the canton and to individuals, organizations, as well as public-law corporations and institutions that conduct statistical activities on behalf of the canton.**

**2. It does not apply to:**

a) Activities that directly serve the planning, management, performance, or verification of public tasks through the use of statistical methods,

b) Scientific activities of educational and research institutes.

1. In this Act, the following terms shall mean

a) Individual data: Characteristics of a single observation unit, including any unit that can be captured with data, in addition to natural and legal persons,

b) Individual: A natural or legal person under private law,

c) Statistical results: Insights into the properties and relationships of mass phenomena, obtained from the analysis and aggregation of individual data,

d) Statistical data: Individual data, aggregated data, or results needed for or produced by statistical activities,

e) Statistical activity: Any activity aimed at generating, publishing, storing, and documenting statistical results. This particularly includes the collection, processing, aggregation, storage, analysis, and interpretation of data using statistical methods,

f) Public body: An authority or organizational unit of the canton, municipalities, other independent public-law entities and institutions, and private individuals, insofar as they fulfill state or municipal tasks.

1. Statistical activities shall be conducted according to recognized professional principles and scientific methods.

1. The statistical activities of the canton include, on the one hand, the canton’s participation in federal statistics and, on the other hand, the cantonal statistics.

2. The cantonal statistics provide statistical results on the state and development of important areas of life, particularly concerning population, economy, society, health, education, culture, space, and environment.

1. The Statistical Office is the central and independent statistical body of the canton. It is responsible for the canton’s statistics, advises the administrative units of the canton, and provides statistical services.

2. It carries out all statistical activities that arise from the canton’s obligation to participate in the federal statistics and for which the other statistical producers according to § 7 are not responsible.

3. It coordinates the statistical activities of the canton when a federal statistical survey requires data from multiple areas of responsibility.

4. It may call on experts when the fulfillment of its duties requires special expertise or cannot be ensured with its own personnel.

1. The public authorities of the canton engage in statistical activities themselves, insofar as they rely on statistical results for the fulfillment of their duties.

2. They participate in the execution of federal statistical surveys when the respective statistics depend on data from their area of responsibility.

1. The canton and municipalities shall bear the costs arising from their participation in the federal statistics themselves.

1. For the canton statistics, data collected by the canton through the execution of the law (administrative and register data) as well as publicly accessible data sets are to be used.

2. The Statistical Office may retrieve administrative and register data, including particularly sensitive personal data, from the corresponding data collections and IT applications or have them delivered as of a specific date. The duration of access to personal data is to be limited to the necessary minimum and to the smallest possible number of individuals.

1. Insofar as no data pursuant to § 9 paragraph 1 is available, the Statistical Office collects the data required for the cantonal statistics from the public authorities.

1. If the necessary data cannot be obtained from data sources according to §§ 9 para. 1 and 10 para. 1, or only with disproportionate effort, and if this is required for the completeness, representativeness, comparability, or timeliness of a statistic, the Statistical Office may collect them through surveys of natural and legal persons (direct survey), through observation, or through measurement.

2. The circle and the number of respondents must not be larger than necessary for the purpose and informational value of the statistics to be compiled.

3. The respondents must be informed about the purpose and legal basis of the survey as well as about any possible compensation.

**1. Public Authorities are Obligated to Provide Information and to Cooperate.**

Public authorities are obligated to provide information and to cooperate. Information obtained from the courts must not be suitable to impair the independence of the judiciary. The judiciary's management must be consulted in advance.

**2. Natural and Legal Persons May be Obligated to Provide Information and to Cooperate in Direct Surveys.**

Natural and legal persons may be obligated to provide information and to cooperate in direct surveys if the method of the survey and the significance of the statistics require it. The governing council shall issue the respective orders.

**3. The Decision on the Ordered Duty to Provide Information and Cooperate Can be Challenged at the Administrative Court.**

The decision on the ordered duty to provide information and cooperate can be appealed before the administrative court.

1. Public authorities as well as natural and legal persons are obligated to provide truthful information.

1. Provision of Information and Cooperation Are Not Compensated.

2. In the case of direct surveys, a reasonable compensation may be granted for exceptionally large efforts.

1. Statistical producers protect the data through the necessary and proportionate organizational and technical measures against unauthorized processing. For the protection of personal data, § 12 of the Law on Public Information, Data Protection, and Archiving (IDAG) of October 24, 2006, applies.

2. The Statistical Office may retain the name and address lists created for the preparation, execution, and coordination of surveys only as long as they need to be processed for the aforementioned purposes.

3. Material from direct surveys that contains, in addition to the requested information, names or personal identification numbers of the individuals concerned, may only be processed by the Statistical Office. It must be destroyed as soon as the processing is completed.

4. Subject to § 16, the Statistical Office may only retain and archive data if they do not contain names or personal identification numbers of the individuals concerned.

1. The Statistical Office may use the necessary personal identification features for the completion, verification, and processing of collected individual data.

2. It processes the prepared individual data in a pseudonymized form. It pseudonymizes them by replacing personal identifiers with a non-speaking identifier.

3. The Statistical Office anonymizes the individual data as soon as the purpose of their processing allows, but no later than 30 years after their collection. It anonymizes them by deleting personal identification information and the identifier.

4. If a statistic requires the examination of developments over a period exceeding 30 years, the Statistical Office anonymizes the individual data once the purpose of the statistic has been achieved. The Government Council specifies these statistics by regulation.

1. The Statistical Office is permitted to link data.

2. For this purpose, it systematically uses the insurance number in accordance with Art. 50c of the Federal Act on Old-age and Survivors' Insurance (AHVG) of December 20, 1946, or other identifiers as connection keys.

3. Prior to linking personal data covering different areas or time periods, the Statistical Office replaces personal details with a pseudonymous identifier.

4. If particularly sensitive personal data are linked, or if the linkage results in personality profiles, the linked data must be deleted upon completion of the statistical evaluation work.

1. Data collected for statistical purposes in accordance with §§ 9-11 may be used exclusively for federal and cantonal statistics. They are not to be offered to the state archive.

2. Use for any other purpose is only permissible if expressly provided for by law or if the affected individuals consent.

3. If the Statistical Office discovers deficiencies in the collected data, it shall report these to the public authority from which the data originated.

1. Individuals entrusted with statistical activities must keep confidential all data concerning natural and legal persons that they encounter during their work. This obligation remains in effect even after the termination of their work.

2. If external individuals are entrusted with statistical activities, they must be contractually bound to maintain statistical confidentiality in accordance with paragraph 1.

1. The Statistical Office may provide individual data in anonymized form to organizations and institutions outside the cantonal administration for non-commercial research and scientific purposes, provided that no conclusions can be drawn about individual persons from this data.

2. The Statistical Office may, with the approval of the Government Council, forward address data for survey purposes related to statistics.

3. The organizations and institutions are to be contractually bound by obligations analogous to those in §§ 15 para. 1, 18 paras. 1 and 2, 19 para. 1, 21, and 22 para. 1. Additionally, they are to be contractually obligated to irreversibly delete the data after the purpose of processing is fulfilled, but no later than five years.

1. Statistical producers publish their statistical results objectively and impartially. Unpublished results are made accessible in an appropriate manner.

2. Subject to a legally prescribed publication, the results must not allow conclusions to be drawn about the circumstances of individuals who have not themselves already made such information publicly accessible.

3. Statistical producers provide definitions of terms for statistical results and document collection and evaluation methods.

1. Published or accessible statistical results may be used and reproduced free of charge without copyright permission, provided that the source is cited.

2. The Grand Council may, by decree, stipulate a requirement for authorization and fees for use or dissemination for commercial purposes.

1. The Statistical Office may, on behalf of the administrative units of the canton and for public-law corporations, institutions, and foundations, as well as for private-law institutions controlled by the canton, perform statistical activities in exchange for cost-covering fees.

2. Within its capabilities and with discretion, it may analyze data already in its possession for individuals and organizations outside the cantonal administration in exchange for a fee.

1. The government council determines the commencement.