Constitution of the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft (Church Constitution, KiV) (Kirchenverfassung, KiV) - Mandate (KiV)

1. As part of the worldwide Christianity and a member of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Switzerland, the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed.

2. It fulfills its mission through Word and Sacrament, diakonia and pastoral care, instruction and education.

3. It gathers people for worship and prayer.

4. It bears witness and calls for the following of Jesus Christ.

5. It addresses the concerns of people and accompanies them in their search for meaning and orientation.

6. It acknowledges its social responsibility and advocates for justice, peace, and the preservation of creation.

7. It fosters ecumenism, the Christian-Jewish tradition, and interreligious dialogue among religious communities and their members.

8. It invites all people to a reconciled community.

1. The Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft (Regional Church) is a public-law corporation based in Liestal. As a public-law recognized Regional Church, it serves its members and the entire population.

2. The Regional Church consists of all its parishes and the Cantonal Church. The church order specifically designates and lists as parishes

a. territorially constituted parishes;

b. affiliated non-territorially constituted parishes;

c. affiliated parishes outside the canton, where their origin-right permits this.

3. Through an association, the Regional Church can offer churches and church communities the possibility of an institutionalized form of encounter and structured exchange.

4. The affiliation of non-territorially constituted parishes and parishes outside the canton, as well as an association, require approval by the Synod. The church legislation regulates the specifics for an affiliation and the association, as well as the rights and duties of non-territorial, out-of-canton, and associated parishes.

5. Parishes and the Cantonal Church convene and make decisions in a direct-democratic or synodal manner.

6. The church councils, the Synod, and the church council guide and promote church life in spiritual and organizational respects within the framework of the tasks assigned to them in the church legislation. Aware of their shared responsibility before God, they strive for concordance in their decisions.

7. The Regional Church independently regulates its affairs in the church constitution and church legislation within the framework of the cantonal constitution and church law. In connection with fulfilling its ecclesiastical mission, it participates in the design and implementation of tasks within state and municipal responsibility.

8. The Regional Church periodically reviews its task fulfillment within the context of future planning. This review is conducted integrally as well as at the level of the Cantonal Church and the parishes. Details are regulated in the church legislation.

9. The Regional Church respects the autonomy of the parishes and upholds the principle of subsidiarity.

1. All residents of the canton who are members of the Evangelical Reformed Church, as well as those who have joined from an evangelical church, are members of the national church and simultaneously of one of its parishes.

2. Baptism is a visible sign of membership.

3. Entry into and exit from the church require a written declaration of intent to the church council. The council decides on admission and confirms the exit.

4. Further details are regulated by church legislation.

1. Voting and active and passive electoral rights in matters of the regional church and its parishes are granted to all church members who have reached the age of 16, subject to exclusion from voting rights in accordance with the cantonal constitution.

1. To fulfill the church's mission, collaboration particularly involves employees in the following services: pastoral service, diaconal service, catechetical service, musical service, sacristan service, and administrative service.

2. The church administration may delegate specific tasks tied to a service to other qualified individuals as needed and in consultation with those responsible. The details are regulated by church legislation.

3. Employees, volunteers, and unpaid workers collaborate in an effective exchange of their knowledge, skills, and experiences.

4. Employment relationships with the staff of the parish and cantonal church, particularly the legal nature of the employment, their prerequisites, establishment and termination, as well as the rights and duties of employees to be included in the employment contracts, remuneration, and provisions concerning residence, are regulated by church legislation.

1. The Duties of the Church Communities consist of fulfilling the ecclesiastical mandate according to § 1. All members of the church community collectively support the life of the church in accordance with their abilities, talents, and qualifications.

2. All individuals voluntarily, in an honorary capacity, employed or elected in the service of the church community, shall collectively focus their activities on fulfilling the duties of the church community and its development.

1. The church parishes are public-law corporations. They bear the ecclesiastical life.

2. The church parishes regulate their affairs autonomously within the framework of state and regional church law.

3. The highest body of the church parish is the parish assembly, formed by the entirety of voting members. The ecclesiastical legislation regulates the powers, convening, and leadership as well as the course of the proceedings.

4. The church council is the community-leading and executive body. The elected members of the church council and the pastoral office lead the community and, together with the inclusion of all employees, ensure the community's development. The ecclesiastical legislation regulates the term of office, composition, powers, convening, and leadership as well as the course of the proceedings.

5. The voting members elect

a. the members of the church council;

b. their deputies to the synod;

c. the holders of the pastoral office;

d. other persons or bodies according to cantonal church or parish decrees.

1. The Pastoral Office consists of the elected ordained pastors and the employed deputy pastoral agents. They exercise their office in service of the church congregation and fulfill their duties in accordance with this constitution and the additional provisions of ecclesiastical legislation.

2. Each church congregation has a Pastoral Office.

1. The church parishes utilize the possibilities of regional and inter-institutional collaboration and networking with ecclesiastical and non-ecclesiastical partners in fulfilling their tasks.

2. The existence of a church parish is guaranteed within the framework of the constitution and ecclesiastical legislation. The church parishes independently determine the form of their collaboration.

3. The ecclesiastical council's approval and details are governed by ecclesiastical legislation.

1. Through the merger, 2 or more church parishes consolidate into a new church parish. A church parish may also decide on its division.

2. A merger or the division of a church parish for the purpose of joining another cantonal or out-of-cantonal church parish requires the identical resolutions of the involved church parishes, including an arrangement of the financial consequences, as well as approval by the synod.

3. After obtaining synodal approval, the organs must be appointed in the newly formed church parishes.

4. The details are regulated by ecclesiastical legislation.

1. The responsibilities of the cantonal church organs and authorities, as well as all their employees, involve fulfilling the ecclesiastical mandate in accordance with § 1. In this sense, the cantonal church supports the parishes in their tasks by providing central services and advice, in matters of regional cooperation and merger, in proactive parish leadership, and by fulfilling societal duties that exceed the resources and capabilities of individual parishes.

2. The cantonal church conducts special ministerial offices and specialized departments.

3. Further details are regulated by ecclesiastical legislation.

1. The Synod, as the highest legislative body, enacts the church constitution and other fundamental legislative measures of the church based on the church constitution. It decides on the budget and accounts of the Cantonal Church. It supervises the committees it elects and holds general oversight over the administration of the Cantonal Church and church foundations.

2. Within the Synod, worship services and the cultivation of community are given their due space.

3. All parishes are entitled to one representative in the Synod. If membership exceeds 1,000 members, there is an entitlement to additional representation according to a key determined in church legislation. When establishing this key, appropriate Synod size is taken into account.

The Synod members are elected in the parishes as constituencies for a term of 4 years. Church legislation regulates, in addition to the key decisive for representation entitlement, the details of the election, composition, and organization of the Synod, including its specific powers, convocation, leadership, and the conduct of negotiations.

4. The Synod elects for a 4-year term of office

a. the members of the Church Council and its presidency;

b. the members of the Appeals Commission;

c. the delegates to the Synod of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Switzerland;

d. other individuals or committee members according to Cantonal Church decrees.

5. The Church Council is the governing and executive body of the Cantonal Church. It consists of at least 5 members and supervises the parishes and Cantonal Church foundations. It prepares Synod business and submits proposals to it. It is the electoral body for the representation of the national church in supra-cantonal committees, holders of Cantonal Church and regional functions and offices, as well as Cantonal Church employees. It represents the national church in its participation in the Evangelical Reformed Church of Switzerland, in other church circles, and in contact with cantonal authorities and bodies and partners, particularly from politics, social sectors, culture, economy, and media.

6. The Appeals Commission functions as a complaints authority with the power to review the appropriateness of complaints against decisions and decrees of the parishes and organs of the Cantonal Church, as well as disputes between parishes. It consists of at least 3 members.

1. The convents include all church employees of a professional group and are represented in the synod with an advisory vote. Their regulations are approved by the church council.

2. The professional associations include the members of a professional group who voluntarily belong to them.

3. The tasks, roles, and further details are regulated in church legislation.

1. The cantonal church and parishes manage their assets and properties independently and prudently in accordance with the established principles of public financial management. Asset management is carried out in alignment with the ecclesiastical mission. The provisions of the decree on the Church Property Foundation apply to church buildings and estates owned by the Church Property Foundation.

2. The financial needs of the national church, or the cantonal church and parishes, are covered according to the Church Act by

a. the church tax levied by the parishes on their members;

b. a share of the church tax from legal entities;

c. the ordinary canton contribution;

d. additional contributions and donations.

3. The parishes collect offerings, the use of which they control, subject to other directives. For special projects, they may obtain additional funding sources and be supported by the cantonal church.

4. The church tax from legal entities is used for cantonal church, regional, and inter-parish tasks, particularly of a social or cultural nature, as well as for contributions to church construction projects. This tax is not used for purely religious purposes.

5. The cantonal church implements a horizontal financial equalization for the parishes with the aim of limiting differences in their tax burdens.

6. The use of the ordinary canton contribution for cantonal church tasks and for the benefit of the parishes, the withholding tax and church tax from legal entities, cantonal offerings, as well as tax collection and financial equalization, are regulated by church legislation.

1. The regional church guarantees legal protection within the framework of state legislation. The internal church legal process and procedures are regulated by ecclesiastical legislation.

2. The cantonal court is authorized to review the contested act for compliance with federal law, cantonal law, and regional church law.

1. Resolutions of the parish assembly are subject to a ballot vote if requested by 1/20 of eligible voters within a period of 60 days from their publication. The specifics and procedures are regulated and organized in the ecclesiastical legislation. A referendum against elections, the budget, and accounts is excluded.

1. Resolutions of the Synod concerning church legislation and expenditures shall be subject to a referendum if, within a period of 60 days after their publication, it is demanded by a decision of at least 3 parish assemblies or by 1,000 eligible voters.

2. 3 parishes, through resolutions by their parish assemblies, or 1,000 eligible voters may submit an initiative to amend synodal enactments of fundamental importance in church legislation.

3. The details shall be regulated in the church legislation, with procedures organized and a determination made as to which other resolutions are also subject to a referendum. A referendum against elections, budgets, and accounts is excluded.

1. Concerning votes and elections in a parish or the cantonal church, the following applies

a. in votes, a simple majority decides;

b. in elections, an absolute majority decides, and in a second round, a relative majority;

c. upon the request of 1/4 of the present eligible voters in a parish assembly or the synod, a vote or election shall be conducted by secret ballot.

2. The details of the voting and election procedures, as well as special provisions regarding the preparation of these matters, are regulated by the church legislation and the legal ordinances of the parish.

1. For the complete or partial revision of the church constitution, a proposal is required from an absolute majority of the members present at the synod meeting, an initiative by 3 church communities through a majority resolution of their church community assembly, or by 1,000 eligible voters.

2. The relevant resolutions of the synod are subject to a vote by eligible church members and are considered approved with a simple majority.

1. This Constitution was resolved by the Synod on November 20, 2019, and adopted by the voting populace on September 27, 2020.

2. Upon approval of the Constitution by the Government Council pursuant to § 1c para. 2 in conjunction with § 2 of the Church Act, the Church Council shall determine the date for the enforcement of this Constitution and the repeal of that of July 8, 1952, in coordination with the ecclesiastical legislation to be revised accordingly.

3. The Church Council shall promptly undertake the tasks concerning newly enacted or amended law under this Constitution. The Synod, elected under the law in force until December 31, 2020, or from January 1, 2021, shall decide, within its legislative capacities and the completely revised Church Constitution, and subject to the optional referendum, in particular on church order and financial regulations.

4. The Synod shall decide, upon the proposal of the Church Council, on the transitional regulations required in connection with new or amended law, particularly concerning the financing system.

5. The elected synod members and officeholders in the parish congregations and the cantonal church shall remain in office until the end of the terms prescribed by previous law.