Cantonal Council Resolution on the Rules of Procedure of the Government Council (GO RR) - Oath or Affirmation

1. Oath or Affirmation is a Precondition for the Activity of the Government Council.

2. The Council members take the Oath or Affirmation together with the members of the Cantonal Council at its inaugural meeting.

3. If a Council member later joins the Government Council, they take the Oath or Affirmation before assuming office at a session of the Cantonal Council.

4. If a Council member cannot attend the designated session of the Cantonal Council due to illness, accident, or force majeure, they take the Oath or Affirmation at the next possible Government Council meeting.

1. The Executive Council shall assume office on January 1st of the new term following the complete renewal elections.

1. The Executive Council sets the meeting dates. It convenes as often as business requires. The Landammann or the female Landammann may call additional meetings.

2. The Chancellor invites the Executive Council to the meetings and simultaneously provides the agenda.

1. The presence of four council members is necessary to open a meeting, deliberate on business, make decisions, as well as elect and appoint officials.

1. All council members, as well as the chancellor, shall participate in the meetings.

2. The chancellor shall participate in the meetings with an advisory vote and shall have the right to propose motions in legal, organizational, and planning matters.

3. The deputy chancellor shall have the same rights and duties as the chancellor in cases of representation.

4. The Landammann (President of the Council) may exceptionally invite internal and/or external administrative experts to the meetings.

1. The recorder or scribe maintains the record. The government council approves it at its next meeting.

2. The record includes the resolutions as well as the votes, elections, and appointments, with an indication of the number of votes. For disputed matters, the main arguments presented during the consultation are noted.

3. Each council member is entitled to submit a briefly reasoned statement for the record.

1. Board Members Recuse Themselves in Matters of the Government Council and the Directorate They Lead,

1. when they have a direct personal interest in the matter;

2. when they are related in a direct line or collateral line up to the third degree, related by marriage, or connected through marriage, engagement, registered partnership, or de facto cohabitation with a person who has a direct personal interest in the matter;

3. when their own decisions are being appealed before the Government Council;

4. when they are representatives of a person who has a direct personal interest in the matter, or have acted on behalf of them in the same matter;

5. when, from an objective viewpoint, they obviously give an impression of bias.

2. If board members recuse themselves, they must explain the grounds for their recusal.

3. The Government Council decides on recusal issues without the participation of the respective board member.

4. The recusal must be recorded in the minutes.

1. The deliberations of the government council are not public.

2. Council members are not permitted to disclose any observations they make during the exercise of their office to unauthorized third parties.

3. Access to the official documents of the government council is governed by the legislation on the principle of public access to administration (Public Access Act).

1. The Government Council regularly and promptly informs the public and the cantonal administration about its decisions of general interest, insofar as they are not subject to official secrecy.

1. Regardless of their personal opinions, the council members are responsible for the decisions of the executive council with respect to third parties.

2. The executive council may exempt council members from the principle of collegiality for a particular matter due to serious personal reasons.

1. The departments submit reports and proposals to the government council for matters within their jurisdiction.

2. The government council generally decides after joint consultation, but for straightforward matters, without consultation. Each council member can request consultation for straightforward matters.

1. The Executive Council initially decides whether to take up a matter.

2. The reconciliation and order of motions, the handling of procedural and subsidiary motions, as well as the division of voting questions, are governed by the Rules of Procedure of the Cantonal Council.

1. Votes in the Executive Council shall be conducted openly. A resolution requires the majority of those voting, unless otherwise specified by the rules of procedure. The President of the Council participates in the voting.

2. An abstention must be briefly justified and recorded with its justification in the minutes.

3. In the event of a tie, the President of the Council has the casting vote.

4. A resolution is valid if it accumulates at least the votes of three council members.

1. Motions to reconsider a previous resolution require four votes in the same session and five votes in a later session.

2. If the deliberation of a matter during the same reading extends over two or more sessions, a motion to reconsider requires four votes in the final session. In a subsequent session following the conclusion of this reading, five votes are necessary.

3. For a matter with two or more readings, a motion to reconsider the outcome of a previous reading requires four votes.

4. A motion to reconsider an earlier partial decision during the same reading requires a majority of the votes cast in accordance with § 13 of these rules of procedure.

5. If the motion to reconsider is accepted, a previous decision may be amended with the majority of the votes cast in accordance with § 13 of these rules of procedure.

1. In the event that a council member is absent, his or her deputy, with their consent, shall represent his or her affairs before the government council. If the deputy is also absent, the alternate, with the consent of both council members, shall assume their affairs.

2. If consent cannot be obtained due to illness, accident, or force majeure, and the matter is urgent, the government council may nevertheless address the matter.

1. The Governing Council may, upon request from a council member, adopt circular resolutions and, in the event of disasters and emergencies, decide on telephone, video, or similar meetings. Each council member and the state recorder can file an objection within a reasonable period and request that the matter be handled in a regular meeting.

2. If an extraordinary meeting form pursuant to paragraph 1 has been decided, the majority for the substantive handling of the matter shall be calculated in accordance with § 13 of these rules of procedure.

1. Four council members may, as an exception in cases of urgency and unanimously, make decisions within the jurisdiction of the executive council, provided that the executive council is unable to do so. Contrary to § 3 paragraph 1 sentence 2 of these rules of procedure, they are not required to convene for this purpose.

2. Urgent decisions are to be presented to the executive council at the next meeting for their information.

1. Elected or employed in an open procedure is the person who achieves the absolute majority of the validly cast votes. If the first or subsequent round does not result in an absolute majority, the person with the fewest votes is excluded from the election or employment procedure.

2. The Chairwoman or Chairman participates in elections or employment procedures without the right to cast the deciding vote. If the procedure cannot be continued due to a tie vote, the Chairwoman or Chairman draws lots to determine who is excluded from the election or employment procedure.

3. § 13 paragraphs 2 and 4 of these rules of procedure apply additionally.

1. The State Secretary shall allocate submissions to the Government Council to a directorate or the State Chancellery for reporting and proposal or for direct handling. A reallocation of submissions already assigned from one directorate to another requires the consent of the State Secretary.

2. In the event of disputes, the Cantonal President shall decide immediately.

3. Submissions of a subordinate nature can be handled by the Cantonal President personally, with the authority to delegate to the State Secretary. The Government Council shall be informed of the matter.

1. External Reports Require the Approval of the Government Council.

1. The Government Council may, during its term of office, decide on a change in the allocation of the directorates only with the consent of the affected Council members.

1. The Executive Council employs electronic, procedural workflows and systems.

1. The Executive Council can appoint delegations from among its members. These typically consist of three council members. The chair is held by the council member whose department is most directly affected by the subject matter.

2. The delegations prepare decisions of the Executive Council in specific areas. They may conduct negotiations with other authorities or with private entities on behalf of the Executive Council.

1. The government council may establish commissions to advise it.

2. It selects the members and regulates the tasks as well as the organization. A commission is administratively assigned to the department that is particularly affected by the subject matter, or, if necessary, to the state chancellery.

3. Commissions with decision-making powers require a formal law as a basis.

4. § 12 of these rules of procedure applies accordingly.

1. A commission member must recuse themselves if a reason for recusal pursuant to § 7 para. 1 of these rules of procedure is present. § 7 paras. 2 and 3 of these rules of procedure apply accordingly.

2. Commission deliberations are confidential. The decision on the briefing of third parties is made by the government council for government commission and by the commission itself for commissions with decision-making authority. Access to official commission documents is governed by the legislation on the freedom of information of the administration (Freedom of Information Act).

3. If a formal law governs recusal or confidentiality for a commission member differently from these rules of procedure, the formal law takes precedence over these rules of procedure.

1. The Executive Council adopts implementing provisions for these rules of procedure and ensures efficient council operations.