Constitution of the Canton of Nidwalden, (1965)
Table of Provisions (114)
Statutory Text (114 Provisions)
The freedom and dignity of man are inviolable.
Within the limits of federal rights and cantonal laws enacted to safeguard public order, the following are particularly guaranteed: 1. freedom of belief and conscience, as well as the free exercise of worship; 2. freedom of opinion, the right to express and disseminate opinions, in particular freedom of the press; 3. freedom of association and the right to assemble peacefully; 4. freedom of establishment for all Swiss citizens; 5. bodily integrity; 6. freedom of movement and the inviolability of the home; 7. private rights and inalienable claims, subject to expropriation executed in the public interest; 8. freedom of trade and industry.
All individuals are equal before the law.
No one shall suffer discrimination or gain advantage based on their sex, origin, language, race, social status, or philosophical, political, or religious convictions.
The canton and the municipalities promote the achievement of de facto equality between men and women.
No one may be removed from their natural judge.
The right to be heard is guaranteed.
The right to free legal aid in cases of indigence is guaranteed within the limits of the law.
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Laws that impose burdens on individuals cannot have retroactive effect.
Public law corporations and institutions must repair, within the limits of the law, the damage that their authorities, officials, and employees cause to third parties in the performance of a non-profit service.
Expropriation or a similar restriction of private property or a proprietary right entails full compensation.
An active citizen is any person of Swiss nationality who is legally established in the canton, has reached the age of 18, and is not deprived of their political rights by law.
An active citizen may, in the canton and at their place of residence: 1. participate in votes and elections; 2. exercise the right of initiative and referendum; 3. be elected to a public office; the legislation determines the cases in which the eligibility of officials is contingent upon the possession of a certificate of competence or in which the status of an active citizen is not required.
Everyone has the right to address petitions to the authorities.
The acquisition and loss of cantonal and municipal citizenship rights are regulated by law.
Every person fulfills the duties incumbent upon them under cantonal and communal legislation.
Participation in cantonal and communal elections and votations constitutes a civic duty.
Every active citizen is obliged to assume, for the duration of a mandate, the official responsibility incumbent upon them under the Constitution, insofar as this responsibility is exercised as an ancillary function; the law defines the exceptions.
School attendance is compulsory within the age limits set by law.
In public schools, education is free, unless otherwise provided by legislation, subject to federal law.
Public schools are conducted in a patriotic and Christian spirit. They must be accessible to adherents of all denominations, without infringing on their freedom of belief and conscience.
Primary education is the responsibility of the municipalities within the bounds of the legislation.
The canton supervises primary education and promotes it through subsidies.
The canton has the obligation to ensure and promote vocational education. This may be entrusted to economic associations.
The canton may establish institutions of higher education or support them through subsidies.
To this end, it may enter into concordats with other cantons.
Children with disabilities shall receive special education and instruction.
The canton shall establish or support special schools and educational homes for this purpose.
The canton encourages, within the limits of legislation, the education and enhancement of knowledge in scientific and professional fields.
The right to establish private schools is guaranteed within the limits of the law.
Private schools are subject to the supervision of the canton.
They may be supported by public subsidies within the limits of the legislation.
The canton protects the natural resources of the country.
It particularly encourages measures regarding the protection of water and air against pollution, the conservation and exploitation of forests, the protection of the alpine environment, as well as efforts undertaken in the area of national and local land planning.
The canton and the municipalities commit to mitigating climate change and its effects; they take into account the objectives of the Confederation and the international treaties to which Switzerland is bound, and their measures aim, among other things, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality.
They may encourage the development and use of technologies, materials, and processes that contribute to climate protection and adaptation to climate change.
The canton encourages efforts for the protection of the landscape and sites, as well as for the conservation of historical monuments.
It must preserve the characteristic appearance of the landscape and localities, sites evocative of the past, natural landmarks, and monuments, and conserve them wherever there is an overriding general interest.
The canton encourages scientific and artistic activities as well as efforts to develop popular culture.
It may maintain or support institutions that perform important cultural tasks within the canton.
The canton shall strive to make the achievements and benefits of science and the arts accessible to everyone.
The assistance of the poor is governed by law.
The canton and the municipalities may, to supplement the social insurances of the Confederation, establish special insurance and provident institutions in areas not governed by federal law.
Housing measures fall within the jurisdiction of the municipalities.
The canton may enact uniform legal provisions to encourage housing construction and promote such construction through subsidies.
The canton endeavors to improve public health.
It regulates the practice of medicine.
It may regulate by law assistance to the sick and support it through subsidies. It may establish or support hospitals and asylums.
In the fulfillment of their tasks, the canton and the municipalities strive to support the family as the foundation of society.
The canton enacts, within the limits of federal law and the present constitution, the necessary provisions to encourage industry, arts and crafts, and commerce.
It may maintain or support establishments and works that serve the economic development of the canton.
The canton shall take measures within its competence to maintain a capable peasantry.
In particular, it may encourage the preservation of rural land ownership, land consolidation and land improvements, the granting of agricultural credits, the improvement of product quality, vocational training, and agricultural operation advisory services.
The canton and the municipalities shall tax the income and wealth of natural persons as well as the profits and capital of legal entities in accordance with the law.
Cantonal legislation determines the other taxes that may be levied by the canton or the municipalities.
Legislation regulates financial equalization among the municipalities.
The Roman Catholic Church is the national church.
The Grand Council has the authority to represent the canton, within the limits of federal law, in the conclusion of agreements which must be made with the Curia to regulate relations with the bishopric.
The Evangelical Reformed Church is recognized as an institution of public law.
All other religious communities are subject to private law insofar as they are not recognized by law as public law institutions.
The Churches recognized as public law institutions independently manage their affairs within the limits of the legislation.
If an ecclesiastical constitution is adopted by the voting members of a Church, it must be submitted for approval to the Grand Council.
The residents of the canton are members of a Church recognized as a public law institution if they belong to the respective denomination. Conversion and withdrawal require a written declaration submitted to the president of the parish (ecclesiastical or parish community).
Religious education is a school subject at all levels.
It is provided by the churches recognized as public law institutions; with their consent, schools may entrust biblical instruction to the teaching staff.
The canton guarantees the preservation of monasteries and religious foundations.
The legislative, executive, and judicial powers are separated. No power may intervene in the domain of another.
Members of the Grand Council may not be part of any court of the canton.
Members of the Council of State may not belong to the Grand Council, a court, a municipal authority, or a corporate council.
Members of a superior jurisdiction may not simultaneously be part of a jurisdiction subordinate to it.
The law may define other incompatibilities for members of the cantonal or municipal authorities.
Elections are held according to the majority principle unless the law prescribes the proportional method.
The cantonal and communal authorities must be convened: 1. when the regulations provide for it; 2. when the authority or the president decides; 3. when at least a quarter of the council members request it in writing, specifying the matters to be addressed.
The cantonal and communal authorities may deliberate validly when at least half of their members are present.
The law regulates the quorum for the courts.
The term of office for the authorities is four years.
The suspension of duties and the dismissal of authorities and officials are regulated by law.
The documents of a case may be consulted by active citizens who have the right to vote in that matter.
The deliberations of the Grand Council and the popular representation in the municipalities are public within the limits of the law.
The publicity of the deliberations of the courts and municipal assemblies is governed by the law.
The following persons cannot simultaneously belong to the Council of State or a tribunal: 1. spouses and registered partners; 2. relatives and in-laws in a direct line and, up to the third degree inclusive, in a collateral line; 3. spouses and registered partners of siblings.
The following persons cannot simultaneously belong to another cantonal or communal authority: 1. spouses and registered partners; 2. relatives and in-laws in a direct line; 3. siblings.
A stable life partnership is considered equivalent to marriage and registered partnership.
A draw determines which person must withdraw due to the determined incompatibility.
These provisions do not apply to the Grand Council or to communal parliaments.
Stans is the capital of the canton and the seat of the cantonal authorities.
The law may, in the event of disaster or war, grant the Grand Council, the State Council, and the administrative councils the authority to order, for a limited duration, measures intended to protect the population, in derogation from the rules of competence provided in this constitution.
Active citizens exercise their right to vote in the political municipality. They can exercise it personally by depositing the ballot in the ballot box or by correspondence.
The electorate elects: 1. the Grand Council; 2. the Council of State; 3. the deputies to the Council of States; 4. ... .
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The following are subject to mandatory referendum: 1. the adoption and amendment of the cantonal constitution, as well as the decision on the principle of its total revision; 2. initiatives in the sense of Art. 54 which the Grand Council does not follow up on; 3. laws enacted or amended by the Grand Council to which active citizens oppose a counter-proposal in the sense of Art. 54 a, para. 3; 4. subject to Art. 61, no. 4, decrees related to one-time expenditures exceeding 5,000,000 francs and annually renewable expenditures exceeding 500,000 francs; 5. the adoption of opinions formulated by the Council of State intended for the Confederation, insofar as they relate to nuclear installations, particularly radioactive waste storage facilities, that are to be constructed on the territory of the canton of Unterwald-low, as well as preparatory measures; 6. the granting of concessions for the use of the subsoil for exploitation, production, or storage purposes, including preparatory measures, with the exclusion of the exploitation of groundwater and geothermal energy.
A referendum is required if requested by 250 active citizens within two months following the publication of the legislative act or decision, or if the Grand Council decides so: 1. laws enacted by the Grand Council and inter-cantonal treaties it has approved; 2. decrees of the Grand Council that result in single and freely determinable expenditures exceeding 250,000 francs or annually renewable expenditures exceeding 50,000 francs; 3. decrees of the Grand Council setting the rate of the cantonal tax and the rate of the church tax for legal entities.
The voting takes place within the year following the publication of the legislative act or decision.
The Grand Council is authorized to consult the electorate regarding the introduction of certain principles into legislation. In the drafting of this legislation, the Grand Council is bound by the result of the consultation. This result no longer binds the Grand Council during the preparation of subsequent legislative acts related to the same issue.
Initiatives may be submitted in the form of a petition expressed in general terms or, when they do not request a total revision of the constitution, in the form of a fully drafted proposal.
They must relate to only one and the same subject and must be justified.
They must not contain any provisions contrary to federal law or, unless they request a constitutional revision, to the cantonal constitution.
An initiative may be submitted by: 1. 1000 active citizens as well as the Grand Council when a total revision of the constitution is requested; 2. 500 active citizens as well as the Grand Council when a partial revision of the constitution is requested; 3. 250 active citizens as well as the cantonal and communal authorities mentioned in this constitution when the petition concerns the adoption, repeal, or amendment of a law or a financial decree; when the financial decree is for a publicly useful or cooperative purpose, legal entities of private or public law based in the canton also have the right of initiative.
When the initiative is submitted by active citizens, the signatures must be collected within two months following its submission to the State Chancellery.
The Grand Council may oppose a counter-proposal to the initiative.
500 active citizens may oppose a counter-proposal to the initiative submitted by the Grand Council that aims at partial revision of the constitution.
250 active citizens may oppose a counter-proposal to a law that has been adopted or amended by the Grand Council.
When the counter-proposal is submitted by active citizens, signatures must be collected within two months following its submission to the State Chancellery; this submission must be made within two months following the publication of the Grand Council's proposal.
Initiatives that must be submitted to a popular vote, as well as counter-proposals presented by active citizens, must be submitted to a popular vote within the year following their submission.
When a request formulated in general terms has been accepted, the project implementing it must be adopted within two years thereafter.
The authors of an initiative or a counter-proposal may withdraw them, provided they have the power of attorney to do so, up until the day the date of the popular vote is published.
The counter-proposal must be submitted to the vote simultaneously with the initiative or the Grand Council’s project; in the event the initiative is withdrawn, only the counter-proposal is submitted to the vote.
In the presence of a counter-proposal, active citizens can simultaneously accept or reject both the initiative or the Grand Council’s project and the counter-proposal; if both texts are approved, the one deemed accepted is the one that received the highest number of votes in the subsidiary vote held simultaneously.
The law regulates the procedure applicable in the case of multiple counter-proposals.
Only individuals who are active citizens and possess voting rights in matters related to the corporations within the canton can express opinions on the legal provisions governing participation in the corporation's assets and the enjoyment thereof.
In addition to the individuals mentioned in para. 1, the Grand Council and the Council of the Corporation have the right of initiative.
The Grand Council consists of sixty members.
Each political commune constitutes a district for the election of the Grand Council.
Each electoral constituency elects, in accordance with the provisions of the law, the members allocated to it based on the number of its inhabitants; the decisive factor is the cantonal demographic statistics as of December 31st of the second last calendar year preceding the election.
Each electoral constituency is entitled to at least two seats.
The Grand Council elects for one year the president, the vice-president, and the other members of the office of the Grand Council. The president is not immediately re-eligible.
The Grand Council elects: 1. the Landammann and their deputy, for a period of one year, from among the members of the Council of State; the Landammann is not eligible for re-election to this position for the following period; 2. the president and the other members of the Supreme Court; 3. the presidents and the other members of the Cantonal Court; 4. the president and the other members of the Administrative Court; 5. the other authorities as well as the officials, when the legislation provides for it. The election of the presidents and the other members of the courts takes place two years after the elections to the Grand Council and the Council of State.
The Grand Council enacts in the form of law: 1. all provisions of a general nature that grant rights or impose obligations on natural and legal persons; 2. all fundamental provisions concerning the competence, organization, and procedures of public authorities; 3. provisions executing federal law, subject to Art. 64, para. 1, sec. 2.
It approves intercantonal treaties whose content has legislative scope in the sense of secs. 1 and 2 of para. 1.
It enacts the regulations governing its activities.
The following are also within the competence of the Grand Council: 1. the exercise of the rights of initiative and referendum, which, according to federal law, belong to the cantons; 2. the decision regarding the constitutionality of initiatives and counterproposals submitted in accordance with Art. 54 and 54 a; 3. the interpretation of the cantonal constitution and laws, with the exception of cases pending before the court; 4. decisions concerning all expenditures that are obligatorily incumbent on the canton by virtue of federal law, all expenditures that the Grand Council is authorized to determine by law, as well as one-time and freely determinable expenditures up to an amount of 5,000,000 francs and annually renewable expenditures up to an amount of 500,000 francs; 5. the right to dispose of financial assets and, within the limits of ch. 4, administrative assets, subject to Art. 65, para. 2, ch. 10; 6. decisions regarding the maintenance of buildings and facilities owned by the canton; in this context, the Grand Council is not limited by ch. 4, but Art. 65, para. 2, ch. 9, remains reserved; 7. the determination of the rate of the cantonal tax and the rate of the ecclesiastical tax for legal entities; 8. the establishment of the annual budget and the approval of the state account; 9. the approval of inter-cantonal treaties, within the limits of ch. 4 and subject to Art. 65, para. 2, ch. 9; 10. decisions in matters of jurisdictional conflicts in which the Constitutional Court is involved; 11. the right of pardon in cases of conviction to a custodial sentence; 12. high supervision over the cantonal administration and autonomous institutions, in particular the approval of annual management reports; 13. high supervision over the management of courts, in particular the approval of annual management reports; 14. all other tasks which, by virtue of legislation, fall to the Grand Council.
The right to present initiatives to the Grand Council belongs to each of its members, to each of its committees, as well as to the Council of State and its members.
The committees of the Grand Council have the right to summon members of the administrative authorities, officials, and employees to provide information, and to call upon individuals not belonging to the administration.
The Council of State is composed of seven members.
Each member of the State Council leads a department.
Each department comprises one or more directorates whose scope of activity is determined by legislation.
The State Council proceeds with the assignment of the directorates.
The Council of State issues: 1. the executive orders to the extent authorized by law; 2. the ordinances executing federal law, provided they concern only procedure or competencies. It enacts urgent decrees of limited duration; these must be submitted as soon as possible to the Grand Council, which decides whether they should remain in force and for what duration.
The State Council is, subject to the powers of the Grand Council, the administrative authority of the canton. It represents the canton externally.
It is specifically tasked and mandated to: 1. enforce normative acts by issuing decisions and instructing the administration subordinate to it; 2. execute the decisions and orders of other cantonal authorities, insofar as this is not reserved for special bodies; 3. appoint the officials and employees of the cantonal administration, insofar as this task does not fall, according to legislation, upon another authority; 4. provide, subject to Art. 52, sec. 5, the opinions requested by the Confederation from the canton; 5. supervise the entire administration of the State and regulate autonomous institutions within the limits of the law; 6. oversee, to the extent provided by legislation, the municipalities and corporations and, in cases of serious violations, take the necessary measures subject to appeal to the Grand Council; 7. make decisions on appeals against municipalities and corporations as well as against departments, insofar as the courts are not competent; 8. grant, subject to Art. 52, sec. 6, cantonal authorizations and concessions, insofar as this task does not fall, according to law, to another authority; 9. decide, subject to broader competencies arising from legislation or a decree of the Grand Council, on one-time and freely determinable expenditures up to an amount of 200,000 francs and on annually renewable expenditures up to an amount of 40,000 francs; 10. manage the canton’s assets and dispose of them within the limits of sec. 9; 11. carry out all other tasks assigned to it by law.
The courts are independent and are subject only to the law.
Laws that violate this constitution or contradict federal law, as well as normative acts that are unconstitutional or illegal, do not bind the courts.
Civil justice is administered by: 1. the Cantonal Court; 2. the Supreme Court.
The law regulates the organization of conciliation authorities.
Criminal justice is administered by: 1. the Cantonal Court; 2. the Supreme Court.
The law: 1. regulates the organization of the prosecuting authorities; 2. may assign competencies in matters of administrative criminal law to cantonal or communal administrative authorities subject to judicial review.
Justice in matters of administrative law and social insurance law is administered by the Administrative Court.
Constitutional jurisdiction is exercised by the Supreme Court.
The Constitutional Court has jurisdiction over: 1. disputes concerning the exercise of political rights and the validity of elections and voting in the canton, as well as, after a decision by the Council of State according to Art. 65, no. 7, in municipalities and corporations; 2. disputes concerning the legality of laws and ordinances of the canton, municipalities, and corporations; 3. conflicts of jurisdiction between cantonal authorities, insofar as the Constitutional Court is not a party; 4. disputes concerning the autonomy of municipalities, corporations, and churches recognized as institutions of public law; 5. appeals against decisions of the Grand Council or the Administrative Council regarding the constitutionality of initiatives and counter-proposals submitted in accordance with Art. 61, no. 2, or Art. 83, para. 2, no. 5; 6. other matters assigned to the Constitutional Court by law.
The law governs the organization and jurisdiction of the courts.
The courts may adjudicate as a single judge or as a panel.
The law may establish: 1. specialized courts for certain types of disputes; 2. inter-cantonal courts.
The existence and autonomy of the municipalities are guaranteed.
The municipalities regulate all local matters that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Confederation or the canton.
They may, within the limits of the law: 1. freely regulate their organization and elect their own authorities, officials, and employees; 2. perform, according to their free discretion, the tasks that fall within their scope of activity.
In order to jointly fulfill their tasks, the municipalities may, within the limits of the legislation, enter into contracts, form associations, or establish institutions with municipalities of the canton or of other cantons.
The municipal assembly, the administrative council, and its president are the necessary bodies of each municipality.
The municipalities are subject to the supervision of the Council of State.
In the event of a serious violation of duties, the Council of State may, subject to appeal to the Grand Council, completely or partially withdraw from a municipality the right to self-administration or order other measures.
The communal assembly is convened at least twice a year. An extraordinary communal assembly is convened when the administrative council decides or when one-twentieth of the active citizens request it, specifying the matters to be addressed; in the latter case, the communal assembly is convened within three months. The president, the vice-president, or the highest-ranking member of the administrative council conducts the proceedings.
Within the competence of the municipal assembly are: 1. the adoption of ordinances and regulations, insofar as the law or a decision of the municipal assembly has not entrusted this task to the administrative council; 2. the election of authorities and that of officials whom the law places within the competence of the municipal assembly. Municipalities may arrange the election of members of the administrative council and auditors so that half of the mandates are subject to election every two years; 3. the setting of the municipal tax rate; 4. decisions regarding expenditures and those which, in financial matters, exceed the competence of the administrative council; 5. the determination of the annual budget; 6. the approval of municipal accounts.
The ordinances and regulations enacted or amended by the administrative council are submitted to the communal assembly if, within two months following their publication, one twentieth of the active citizens request it in writing.
The vote must take place at the next communal assembly.
Initiatives may be in the form of projects conceived in general terms or fully drafted projects. If a project conceived in general terms is adopted, the municipal assembly must be presented with a fully drafted project within one year.
Initiatives must concern a single subject and be motivated.
The following may present initiatives: 1. any active citizen, each commission, and the administrative council of the competent municipality; 2. public or private legal entities that have their headquarters in the municipality, provided it involves a financial decision aimed at a public or cooperative utility purpose.
Initiatives must not contain anything contrary to federal law or cantonal law.
The law determines the conditions under which municipal matters must be subject to a vote by ballot.
The law determines the conditions under which municipalities can replace the municipal assembly with popular representation, as well as the organization and powers of this representation.
The administrative council (municipal council, school council, ecclesiastical community council, or parish council) consists of three to eleven members.
The municipal assembly appoints the president and the vice-president from among the members of the administrative council for a term of two years.
The administrative council may determine its members' scope of activity and establish commissions within the limits of the law.
The administrative council issues, subject to Art. 77: 1. the ordinances and regulations that the law or a decision of the communal assembly has placed within its competence; 2. the regulations concerning matters of secondary importance, within the limits of Art. 83, subsection 7.
The administrative council is the administrative authority of the municipality; it represents the municipality externally.
Subject to Art. 80, it has, among others, the power and the mandate
1. to approve the minutes of the municipal assembly;
2. to execute laws, ordinances, and regulations;
3. to implement the decisions and decrees of the cantonal authorities and the municipal assembly, insofar as these are not reserved for special bodies;
4. to appoint the officials and employees insofar as their appointment is not entrusted to another authority by the legislation;
5. to assess the constitutionality of initiatives presented to the municipal assembly according to Art. 78, para. 4;
6. to provide the opinions that the canton requests from the municipality;
7. to decide, within the limits of financial competence regulated by municipal legislation, on the undertaking of freely determinable and one-time expenses and of expenses renewable each year, as well as expenses to which the municipality is legally bound or for which the law or a decision of the municipality has delegated full powers to the administrative council;
8. to manage the municipal assets and to dispose of them within the limits of section 7;
9. to decide on expenses for the maintenance of buildings and installations belonging to the municipality, notwithstanding section 7;
10. to accomplish all other tasks assigned to it by legislation.
A political municipality cannot be divided or merged with another municipality without the consent of the electorate of the municipality and the canton.
The political municipality regulates, within the limits of the legislation, all local matters that are not entrusted to another municipality.
The territory of the school district corresponds to that of the political municipality.
The school district may be dissolved, and its tasks and powers may be assumed by the political municipality, provided that the voters consent to this consolidation; the consolidation may be annulled by a decision of the voters.
The members of officially recognized churches constitute ecclesiastical or parish communes.
The creation, merger, or division of ecclesiastical or parish communes requires the approval of the electorate of the commune and the Grand Council.
The right to vote is regulated in accordance with the provisions of this constitution; the ecclesiastical constitution may additionally grant this right to other members of the Church.
The parish priest or chaplain is an ex officio member of the council of the ecclesiastical municipality or parish council.
The communal assembly of Roman Catholic parishes has the right to nominate (present) clergy insofar as custom recognizes this right for them.
Ecclesiastical or parish communities may only collect church taxes from their members.
The canton levies, within the limits set by law, an additional charge on the profit and capital taxes of legal entities; the law regulates the distribution of the tax proceeds among the churches recognized by public law.
The formation of corporations is subject to the approval of the Grand Council.
The right to self-administration and to the use of their assets is guaranteed to corporations within the limits of the law.
If an initiative in the form of a fully drafted proposal is submitted, the partial revision of the constitution takes place, subject to Arts. 54 and 94, in accordance with the forms of legislation.
If an initiative is submitted in general terms, the partial revision takes place according to the procedure provided in Art. 93.
If a total revision of the constitution is requested in accordance with Art. 54, the request is subject to a secret ballot.
If the total revision is decided, the Grand Council is tasked with drafting the new constitution, unless the decision for revision has entrusted the task to a constitutional council.
The Constitutional Council has the same number of members as the Grand Council and must be elected within a period of 90 days according to the same provisions.
The revised constitution is subject to a secret vote.
Active citizens shall accept or reject, by secret ballot, new constitutional provisions or a new constitution.
In the transitional provisions, the entry into force of all or certain new constitutional provisions may be postponed: 1. until they have obtained federal guarantee; 2. until the mentioned laws have been amended accordingly.
This constitution shall enter into force upon its acceptance by the Landsgemeinde.
Insofar as the provisions of the former constitution are necessary for the existence and functioning of cantonal and communal bodies, they shall remain in force until the adoption of new legislation. This is particularly the case for procedural provisions for the Landsgemeinde and the communal assembly and for provisions concerning the judicial organization.
All existing laws and ordinances remain in force insofar as they are not contrary to the present constitution. The Grand Council must bring into accordance with the present constitution any laws and ordinances that contradict it. The new laws to be enacted pursuant to the present constitution must be submitted to the Landsgemeinde without delay.
Until the adoption of new legislation on the liability of public law corporations and institutions according to Art. 6, the rules of the old constitution remain in force (Art. 22, para. 2).
Until the new legislation comes into force, the municipal assembly shall elect the officials and employees it has elected under the previous constitution.
The special taxes levied by the municipalities under the current legislation shall remain in force until the adoption of the new legislation.
To ensure the existence of school municipalities as per Art. 86, para. 1, provisions shall be adopted which will mandatorily specify all that is necessary for their division or merger, especially concerning the settlement of asset questions and the transitional regime.
In the event of the merger of several school municipalities, their communal assemblies are competent to appoint their representatives during the elaboration of provisions and to approve them. In the event of the division of a school municipality, the communal assemblies of the concerned political municipalities have the same attributions.
Upon request from one party, the Great Council is obliged to establish an arbitration tribunal and, if it does not wish to delegate this responsibility to the tribunal, to set the arbitration procedure. If no regulation is adopted by the parties by January 1, 1970, the Great Council must establish the arbitration tribunal ex officio.
The arbitration tribunal is tasked with bringing the parties to an agreement among themselves or, if that is not possible, to decisively and definitively settle all matters that need resolution.
The existence of school municipalities as per Art. 86, para. 1, begins on January 1, 1975, unless an earlier date has been agreed upon.
If the part of the municipality of Oberdorf that belongs to the Roman Catholic parish of Stans wishes to separate from this parish, the decision pursuant to Art. 88, para. 2, must be made by the municipal assembly of the political municipality of Oberdorf, in place of the parish of Stans. Only active citizens who are members of the Roman Catholic Church have the right to participate in the vote.
The current tax rates shall remain in effect until the enactment of the decree by the Grand Council establishing the rate of the cantonal tax and a decree by the Grand Council establishing the rate of the ecclesiastical tax for legal entities.
The currently existing public welfare municipalities shall continue to exist until a new system has been established by law.
They must fulfill their duties according to the provisions of this constitution; Art. 94, para. 3, of the former constitution remains applicable until the new legislation comes into force.
The term of office for justices of the peace and the enforcement judge is extended until the end of December 2010. In preparation for the composition of the court presidencies and the renewal of judges whose terms expire in 2010, an election will be held in 2010 for the remaining term to be served until 2012.
The Grand Council is authorized to bring into harmony with the federal constitution those provisions of the present constitution that the Federal Assembly may declare contrary to the federal constitution.