Agreement between the Cantons and the Confederation on the Harmonisation of Informatics in Criminal Justice (VHIS) - Subject of the Agreement (VHIS)

1. This agreement governs the collaboration between the cantons that are parties to this agreement, as well as between these cantons and the involved federal entities in the field of information technology in criminal justice.

2. It specifically regulates the establishment and operation of the entity "HIS Switzerland."

1. The parties to this agreement strive, with the involvement of all stakeholders and partners, for collaboration across all areas of criminal justice as well as the coordinated harmonization and standardization of the information and document flow. HIS Switzerland may develop, provide, or have services (services and products) operated in the interest of the participating communities.

2. HIS Switzerland and the parties to this agreement ensure mutual information and coordination of activities, particularly in the areas of data exchange, procurement, data protection, and information security. To this end, they particularly ensure that their authorities at all levels and the organs of HIS Switzerland

a) inform each other promptly about ongoing and planned projects;

b) review planned and ongoing projects for their relevance to the activities of HIS Switzerland as well as the federal and cantonal authorities.

3. HIS Switzerland ensures that the work is coordinated with other projects and carried out considering overarching strategies. In doing so, HIS Switzerland aligns its work particularly with that of the public law corporation "Justitia.Swiss".

1. HIS Switzerland is a public-law corporation with its own legal personality and is headquartered in the city of Bern.

2. It serves to digitize as well as to define and provide services jointly for the participating authorities and the interested partners. The scope of activities of HIS Switzerland includes, in particular

a) the provision and development of IT standards for the exchange of data and documents,

b) the provision and development of tools and expertise for the management, implementation, and monitoring of projects,

c) the provision and development of overviews or maps of digitization activities,

d) the promotion of alliances and coordination among stakeholders for the development, provision, or operational assurance of IT solutions,

e) the provision of consulting services for digital transformation,

f) the carrying out of public procurements,

g) preliminary work of all kinds in view of the initiation of a specific project by the competent organization outside HIS Switzerland,

h) innovation management,

i) the maintenance of a service catalog.

**1. HIS Switzerland provides its services primarily to the parties of this agreement. In doing so, HIS Switzerland can offer services to all parties of the agreement or to a coalition of several parties within the framework of alliances, without requiring the participation of all parties.**

**2. The services of HIS Switzerland are available, among others, to the police, public prosecutors, courts, and correctional facilities at both the cantonal and federal level, as well as their partners.**

**3. HIS Switzerland may make its services available to additional recipients based on agreements, namely:**

a) **Swiss public entities and their associated organizations;**

b) **Decentralized administrative units of the public entities mentioned in section a and private parties who contribute to fulfilling the duties of the penal authorities or are assigned public tasks in this context, provided they need the products to fulfill their legal duties.**

c) **Other recipients not mentioned in sections a and b, if the assembly has decided to initiate negotiations for concluding an agreement.**

**4. It pursues exclusively public interests in favor of the public entities.**

**5. It may collaborate with foreign organizations with a corresponding purpose.**

1. The bodies of HIS Switzerland are

a) the Assembly;

b) the Board of Directors;

c) the Office;

d) the Audit Authority.

1. The assembly has supervision over the board and overall supervision over the office.

2. The board has supervision over the office. If the board forms a committee, its members must abstain from supervisory decisions.

3. Each supervisory body can, in particular

a) engage subordinate bodies with preliminary work to fulfill its own tasks;

b) issue instructions to subordinate bodies regarding the fulfillment of their own tasks.

4. The supervised body may submit proposals to its supervisory body.

5. The board prepares the business of the assembly and convenes it.

6. The audit office is independent of the other bodies.

1. The Assembly is the supreme body of HIS Switzerland.

2. It consists of

a) the cantonal Directors of Justice and Police, whose cantons are parties to this agreement. The cantons may appoint a representative of the judicial authorities as a member of the assembly within their own competence. Each canton has two votes.

b) the Head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), and

c) the Federal Prosecutor.

3. The Chairperson of the Board and the Director may participate in the assembly. If the Chairperson of the Board is not a member of the assembly according to paragraph 2, they do not have voting rights.

4. The Assembly undertakes the following non-transferable tasks

a) Election and dismissal of

1. its President and Vice-President,

2. the Chairperson of the Board and their Deputy,

3. the Auditing body;

b) Approval of the service catalog and additional services as well as financial planning and acceptance of the annual financial statements;

c) Discharge of the members of the Board and the Director;

d) Decision-making on matters for which it is responsible under this agreement;

e) Adoption of the business regulations and financial regulations.

1. The Executive Board is the strategic management body of HIS Switzerland.

2. It consists of

a) a member of the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors (CCJPD), whose canton is a party to this agreement;

b) the Secretary General of the CCJPD;

c) three representatives of the Swiss Prosecutors Conference (SPC);

d) three representatives of the Conference of Cantonal Heads of Correctional Services (CCHCS);

e) two representatives of the Conference of Cantonal Police Commanders of Switzerland (CCPCS);

f) a representative of the Swiss Association of Judges (SAJ);

g) a representative of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP);

h) a representative of the Office of the Attorney General;

i) a representative of the public-law corporation Justitia.Swiss.

3. The Managing Director participates in board meetings without voting rights. The board may invite additional persons without voting rights.

4. The cantonal justice and police directors, whose cantons are parties to this agreement, select the cantonal members of the board according to paragraph 2 letters a, c, d, and e. The head of the FDJP appoints the representative of the FDJP. The Attorney General appoints the representative of the Office of the Attorney General. The Swiss Association of Judges and Justitia.Swiss each appoint their representatives.

5. When constituting the board, care must be taken to ensure that the different regions and linguistic areas of the country are appropriately represented.

6. The chairperson of the board and their deputy must be members of the board.

7. The term of office for members of the board according to letters a and c to i is four years. Re-election is permissible.

8. The board assumes the following tasks

a) Strategic management of the corporation;

b) Design of the budget, financial planning, accounting, and establishment of the auditing body's mandate;

c) Maintenance of the service catalog and application to the assembly for its adoption;

d) Appointment and dismissal of the Managing Director and determination of their signing authority;

e) Supervision of the office;

f) Preparation of the annual report, preparation of the assembly meetings, and implementation of their resolutions;

g) Approval of the establishment of project steering, specialist, or working groups according to Article 11.

9. The board may form a committee consisting of the chairperson and two other board members. The committee serves as the first point of contact for the office and prepares decisions to be submitted to the board. The board may also assign the tasks according to paragraph 8 letters e and g to the committee.

**1. The Secretariat is responsible for implementing the resolutions of the superior bodies. It is managed by a Secretariat Director.**

2. The Secretariat is responsible for all matters not assigned to any other body.

3. The Secretariat Director reports to the Chairperson of the Board.

4. The Secretariat Director represents the entity externally and is responsible for the operational management. They regularly provide all parties to the agreement with written evidence of the specific services rendered.

5. The Secretariat Director has a staff.

6. The Secretariat Director and the other personnel are employed under a contract of employment by HIS Switzerland.

1. The auditing body conducts an ordinary audit in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) applied mutatis mutandis.

2. It is elected by the assembly.

3. If possible, the financial supervisory authority of one of the parties to this agreement shall be elected.

4. The auditing body is appointed in accordance with Article 730a paragraph 1 of the CO. A one-time re-election is permissible.

1. The managing director may, as needed and subject to the approval of the board of directors or, where applicable, the executive committee, establish project management, specialist, and working groups, particularly to accompany individual services of HIS Switzerland.

2. He or she selects the members of the project management, specialist, and working groups upon the recommendation of the beneficiaries of the services.

3. The project management, specialist, and working groups are composed of experts. These experts are provided by the beneficiaries of the services. If necessary, additional experts may be consulted.

1. According to Article 7, each canton has two votes in the assembly. One of these votes can be delegated to a representative of a cantonal judicial authority, at the discretion of the respective canton. The head of the FDJP (Federal Department of Justice and Police) and the Attorney General each have one vote.

2. In the executive board, each member has one vote.

3. In assembly decisions concerning a service, only those members whose communities participate in the service are eligible to vote.

4. In the decision-making process of the assembly or the executive board regarding services in which the Confederation does not participate, its representatives in all bodies only have an advisory vote, and the FDJP cannot reject an assembly decision according to Article 13, Paragraph 3.

5. In the executive board, the right to vote can only be exercised by the persons elected or determined according to this agreement. Substitution by another member of the respective body is not permitted.

6. In the assembly, the cantonal directors of justice and police, and any representative of the judicial authorities (Article 7, Paragraph 2, Letter a), can represent each other. Each canton is entitled to two votes (Paragraph 1).

1. The assembly and the board are quorate when at least half of the votes are represented.

2. Decisions of the assembly and the board require the majority of votes of the present members entitled to vote. In the event of a tie, the president of the assembly or the chairperson of the board shall decide.

3. A decision of the assembly does not come into effect if it is rejected by the representative of the FDJP. An abstention by the representative of the FDJP does not result in such a veto.

1. During elections, the electoral body fills each seat individually.

2. The candidate receiving the most votes is elected. In the event of a tie, a runoff election is conducted.

1. Resolutions may also be passed through electronic communication means, particularly via telephone or video conferences.

2. Written resolution procedures are permissible if no member requests a consultation.

3. The general rules of majority apply.

1. The assembly shall issue a business regulation and a financial regulation for the bodies of HIS Switzerland.

2. The business regulation and the financial regulation shall contain the necessary provisions, in particular regarding the following matters

a) Organization, tasks, competencies, and responsibilities of the individual bodies;

b) Relationship between the bodies (Art. 6);

c) Convening and agenda setting of assemblies and board meetings;

d) Internal control system (ICS) and risk management;

e) Budgeting and financial planning.

1. The board determines the individuals authorized to represent HIS Switzerland. It grants only joint signatures by two persons.

2. HIS Switzerland shall be registered in the commercial register.

3. The individuals authorized to represent as well as the members of the board shall be entered into the commercial register.

4. With the application for registration, the agreement must be submitted to the commercial registry office. If the agreement is amended, a new, complete version of the agreement must be submitted to the commercial registry office.

1. The assembly determines the objectives of HIS Switzerland, adopts the strategy and the associated master plan, defines the services of HIS Switzerland, and ensures financing.

2. It identifies the need for action, including the need for legislative measures. If a need for legislation becomes apparent, the assembly conducts a discussion on initiating legislative projects in the relevant communities.

3. The board is responsible for achieving the objectives and targets set out in the strategy, and clarifies the needs with the stakeholders and partners.

1. Each party to this agreement shall independently determine, within the framework of the applicable law, which services it obtains and under which rules its authorities use these services.

2. A party that has not participated in the development or procurement of a service may also obtain it within the scope of availability.

3. Each party may terminate the obtaining of a service.

1. The conditions under which communities without party status can utilize services are regulated in the usage agreements (Article 4, Section 3), particularly concerning financing.

2. These conditions are based on the rules applicable to the parties. Participation in meetings of the assembly or the board concerning the relevant service, with or without voting rights, can be agreed upon.

3. The agreements are submitted to the voting members of the assembly for adoption pursuant to Article 12, Section 3.

4. The utilization of services by private entities (Article 4, Section 3, Letter b) additionally requires the consent of the competent authority.

1. The office develops potential services based on the master plan or an order from the board and performs preliminary work up to the creation of an initialization order.

2. The assembly decides on the launch of services and preliminary work for a service. The same applies to the termination and realignment of corresponding work.

3. The assembly sets the conditions for

a) the participation of municipalities in the service, including the conditions for subsequent entry and exit;

b) the use of services and its termination.

4. The board appoints at least one person as a representative of the client. This person is subject to the board's supervision.

5. The managing director is responsible for carrying out preliminary work up to the initialization of a service as well as developing, acquiring, and providing the services.

6. Any project management, expert, and working groups are involved in all phases.

7. The development, acquisition, and provision of services comply with recognized standards.

8. The office takes the necessary steps at an early stage to support cooperation among the data protection supervisory authorities of the federal and cantonal levels within the framework of the law applicable to the parties.

1. The assembly approves the general budget and financial plan of HIS Switzerland upon the request of the board.

2. The following in particular will be financed from the general budget

a) tasks of the office not tied to a specific service;

b) the implementation of preliminary work of all kinds up to the initiation of a service.

1. Each party to this agreement shall make an annual contribution to the costs financed through the general budget. This contribution is determined by the assembly according to the following rules

a) The federal government shall participate in the costs proportionally, based on the usage of the respective service.

b) The cantons shall bear the remaining costs; the contributions of the cantons shall be determined in relation to their permanent resident population known at the time of determination.

2. For recipients of services without party status (Art. 20), a contribution to the general costs of HIS Switzerland shall be agreed upon, corresponding to the burden on the office by the utilized service. These contributions shall be credited to the parties according to paragraph 1 in proportion to their own contributions.

1. The assembly establishes the following

a) the key according to which the costs of the service are distributed among the participants and the service recipients;

b) the rules for assessing the contribution to the acquisition made by service recipients joining later.

2. The determination of the distribution key and the contribution to the acquisition is primarily based on the benefit of the respective service for the participants. The contributions of the cantons are generally determined in relation to the current permanent resident population.

3. The contribution to the acquisition is credited to the existing service recipients in proportion to their own contributions.

1. HIS Switzerland does not seek to make a profit and builds up assets only to the extent necessary to finance ongoing operations and ensure liquidity.

1. The assembly is responsible for the approval of the annual financial statements of HIS Switzerland.

2. Each service is managed as a separate cost center.

3. For each municipality participating in a service, a separate account is maintained in the balance sheet per service. Credits from purchasing contributions (Art. 24 para. 2) are recorded in these accounts. Each municipality decides on any potential credit balance in accordance with its laws.

4. The accounting follows one of the recognized accounting standards according to Article 962a of the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR).

5. The fiscal year is the calendar year.

1. The legal issues associated with the operation of HIS Switzerland are subject to cantonal Bernese law, under the reservation of paragraphs 4 to 6, particularly concerning

a) Data protection, public administration transparency, information security, and archiving;

b) Public procurement;

c) Employment relationships and related issues such as occupational pensions;

d) Liability.

2. For the authorities of the participating communities, the assessment of access requests to official documents that they have prepared on behalf of HIS Switzerland or that have been sent to them as primary recipients is governed by the applicable legislation on public administration transparency of the affected community.

3. HIS Switzerland may conduct public procurements in its own name for its parties and issue the necessary orders for this purpose.

4. For state liability claims under Bernese law, HIS Switzerland is liable with its assets. The default liability of the Canton of Bern (Art. 101, para. 2 of the Bernese Personnel Act of September 16, 2004) does not apply; in its place, the contribution obligations under this agreement apply.

5. If Bernese law provides for a decision to be made by order, it shall be issued by the board. The board may delegate this competence to its committee.

6. Orders under paragraph 5 can be appealed to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Bern; otherwise, the procedural law of the Canton of Bern applies.

1. This agreement is open for signature by all cantons and the Confederation.

2. It may enter into force after at least 18 parties have ratified it. The assembly shall determine the effective date.

3. Article 30, paragraphs 2 and 3 shall enter into force upon reaching the quorum as outlined in paragraph 2.

1. Each canton as well as the Federation may accede to the agreement through a unilateral declaration to the board after it comes into force. The accession becomes effective on January 1 of the following year or on a date mutually agreed upon by the canton or the Federation and the board.

1. HIS Switzerland is established upon the entry into force of this agreement.

2. The assembly conducts a founding meeting. It carries this out in the period between reaching the membership number according to Article 28 paragraph 2 and the entry into force.

3. At the founding meeting, it conducts the necessary elections.

1. The HIS assembly may decide upon an amendment to this agreement. Instead of a simple majority (Art. 13 para. 2), a two-thirds majority of the present, eligible voting members and the approval of the FDJP are required.

2. The amendment is submitted for ratification. It requires ratification by two-thirds of the parties as well as by the federal government.

3. It takes effect on the next termination date after the necessary ratifications have been achieved.

4. The assembly may set a different date for the commencement, but not before the necessary ratifications have been obtained. If it sets a date prior to the next termination date, each canton and the federal government may declare their withdrawal to the board within twelve months following the decision, effective as of the date the amendment comes into force.

1. Each party to this agreement may withdraw from this agreement with a notice period of two years at the end of a calendar year.

2. If the number of parties falls below ten, the assembly, consisting of the representatives of the remaining parties, must pass a resolution on the dissolution or adjustment of this agreement.

1. This agreement can be dissolved at any time by a resolution of the assembly with a two-thirds majority of the voting members. The approval of the FDJP is not mandatory in this case.

2. The assembly decides on the modalities of the dissolution as well as the deadlines for the cessation of activities.

1. If this agreement is terminated, the board of directors of HIS Switzerland shall liquidate the organization and have it removed from the commercial register.

1. In the event of a party's withdrawal from this agreement or the dissolution of HIS Switzerland, contributions made will not be refunded.

2. Upon withdrawal or dissolution, the parties are entitled to a positive balance in their balance account.

3. Upon the dissolution of HIS Switzerland

a) The positive or negative liquidation result for each service will be determined separately and allocated among the beneficiaries of the services according to the relevant key (Art. 24 para. 1);

b) The remaining positive or negative overall result will be allocated among the parties to this agreement according to the key for contributions to the general costs (Art. 23 para. 1).

1. For parties that have withdrawn, the rules applicable to recipients without party status apply with regard to participation in services and receipt of services (Art. 20 and Art. 21 para. 3).

1. If the Confederation does not join the agreement or withdraws from it, the rights and obligations granted under the agreement are not applicable to it. In particular, this includes

a) The right to use the services of HIS Switzerland as a recipient with party status (Art. 4 sec. 2, Art. 19). In this case, the Confederation can utilize the services of HIS Switzerland as a recipient without party status (Art. 20).

b) The right to participate in the assembly and the board (Art. 7 sec. 2 lit. b-c, Art. 8 sec. 2 lit. g-h). Thus, the Confederation does not have voting rights in decision-making processes and its approval is not necessary where it is otherwise required.

c) The obligation to contribute financially to the general costs of HIS Switzerland (Art. 23 sec. 1 lit. a). In this case, the cantons must bear the full costs of HIS Switzerland in proportion to their permanent population known at the time of determination.

d) The necessity of obtaining the approval of the FDJP for amendments to the agreement (Art. 31).

1. Disputes among the parties to this agreement, recipients of services without party status, and HIS Switzerland shall be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedure applied mutatis mutandis as per Articles 31 to 34 of the Framework Agreement of June 24, 2005, for inter-cantonal cooperation with burden sharing (IRV).