Cantonal Statistics Act (LStat) - Objectives (StatG)

1. This Law aims to

a) define the tasks of the cantonal statistics;

b) organize the cantonal statistics;

c) promote cooperation with the federal government, the cantons, the municipalities, as well as internal and external bodies in the field of public statistics;

d) guarantee access to available statistical information;

e) ensure compliance with data protection in the field of statistics.

1. This Act applies to all statistical work

a) ordered by the State Council;

b) executed by cantonal administrative units;

c) carried out by public corporations, legal or natural persons to whom the competent authority has entrusted the exercise of a mandate in the field of statistics.

2. The State Council may declare this Act fully or partially applicable to statistical activities of other public-law corporations, legal or natural persons if they

a) receive subsidies from the canton;

b) engage in an activity based on a concession or authorization from the canton.

3. For the statistical activities of municipalities, Articles 4, 5, 6 para. 4, and 16-21 of this Act apply in all cases.

4. The collection and internal use of data solely for administrative purposes is not considered statistical activity.

1. The cantonal statistics provide the cantonal authorities, the municipalities, and the general public with important, representative, and coherent statistical information collected with full independence, particularly concerning the population, space and environment, economy, public finances, social security, health, education and culture, society, and politics.

2. It collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates statistical data in compliance with the principles set out in Articles 4 and 5.

3. Through its statistical activities, the canton contributes to the development of the Swiss statistical information system by collaborating with the federal government, other cantons, municipalities, regional organizations, science, the private sector, social partners, and international statistical organizations.

4. The information provided by the cantonal statistics serves to

a) prepare, implement, and monitor cantonal tasks;

b) as far as possible, satisfy the informational needs of public bodies, the scientific community, the private sector, social partners, other interest groups, the media, and the public;

c) carry out research projects and forecasting studies of general interest.

1. All individuals involved in the collection, processing, and dissemination of statistical information operate with complete independence and according to professional principles based on scientific methods and principles.

2. Subject to the confidentiality of statistics, statistical information is public.

3. Published statistical information is documented with details regarding its scope, sources, as well as collection and evaluation methods to facilitate understanding and correct use.

4. Whenever possible, the collection results are translated into usable statements.

1. The data shall be collected in accordance with the principles of proportionality and necessity, complying with the data protection legislation.

2. If the competent authority possesses the necessary data or if such data are generated by another organization subject to this law through the execution of cantonal law (cantonal administrative data), it shall refrain from conducting specific surveys for cantonal statistics (direct surveys, indirect surveys, or surveys through observation and measurement).

3. If the data required by the cantonal statistics are not available from third parties within the cantonal administration, they shall be collected from municipalities or other legal entities of public law, provided the data are available from these entities (indirect surveys).

4. If the sources referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 prove insufficient, the competent authority shall endeavor to achieve representative results for the canton through regionalization of federal statistics.

5. A direct survey is deemed to be the collection of new data at the source by interviewing natural and legal persons solely for the purposes defined in this law.

6. For each direct survey under this law, the competent authority shall specify by regulation the subject matter and purpose of the survey, the groups being surveyed, the survey offices responsible for the survey, the obligation to provide information, and the costs of the survey.

1. The State Council orders the necessary surveys and regulates the particulars.

2. It may delegate the authority to issue orders to one of its directorates, an office of the cantonal administration, or an institution or corporation under public law, provided that participation is voluntary, i.e., there is no obligation to provide information, and the affected persons or entities are not obliged to cooperate

a) for surveys where no personal data is collected;

b) for surveys involving a small number of private and public law companies and businesses;

c) for one-time surveys involving a small group of respondents.

3. Research institutions subject to this law may order one-time or time-limited surveys without an obligation to provide information.

4. Other organizations subject to this law according to Article 2 paragraphs 2 and 3 may independently order

a) surveys without an obligation to provide information, where no personal data is collected;

b) surveys without an obligation to provide information from natural and legal persons under private and public law, with whom the organization collaborates to fulfill its other tasks;

c) surveys with an obligation to provide information, if another law provides for this.

**1. Cantonal Administrative Units and Public Law Institutions are Obliged to Provide Information.**

2. If the completeness, representativity, comparability, or timeliness of statistics requires it, the State Council may, when ordering a survey, oblige natural and legal persons of private and public law and their representatives to provide information.

3. Those obliged to provide information must do so completely, truthfully, within the prescribed deadline, in the required form, and free of charge.

4. Anyone who voluntarily provides information for a survey must do so truthfully and to the best of their knowledge.

1. The State Council determines, after consultation, the extent to which municipalities and other entities subject to this law shall participate in the implementation of a survey.

2. It may order the adoption of data from data collections, provided that the legal basis of the data collections does not expressly exclude their use for statistical purposes. If such data is subject to a legally established confidentiality obligation, it must not be disclosed in accordance with Article 17 of this law and the legal provisions concerning data protection.

3. The municipalities and other entities participating in statistical surveys shall bear the costs arising from their participation themselves.

4. The State Council may compensate municipalities for voluntarily rendered extraordinary tasks and services.

1. Research institutes and other suitable organizations may be commissioned by the State Council to participate in surveys or other statistical work, provided that data protection is ensured.

2. Compensation may be provided.

1. The office responsible for statistics (the Office) serves as the central statistical authority in the canton and is subordinate to the directorate responsible for statistics. It provides statistical services for the departments and institutions of the canton, for the municipalities, and for the public.

2. The Office coordinates cantonal statistics and establishes standardized foundations in the interest of cantonal, regional, national, and international comparability.

3. At the time of legislative planning, it prepares a multi-year program in collaboration with other statistical offices, after consulting interested parties and in coordination with federal statistics.

4. The Office generally conducts surveys and prepares comprehensive reports.

5. It considers the informational needs of its partners as far as possible.

1. To ensure the coordination of public statistics, the Office collaborates with the federal government, other cantons, other cantonal services, municipalities, research institutes, social partners, political entities, as well as other statistical organizations.

2. The Office must be informed of all statistical projects, studies, and publications.

3. It is also to be consulted in the development of legal or regulatory foundations that provide for the collection or evaluation of statistical data.

4. To facilitate the collection, use, and evaluation of administrative data, the Office must be consulted on the acquisition of new information systems.

1. The administrative units, the municipalities, and, in accordance with their subordination pursuant to Article 2, the other organizations provide the office with the results and foundations of their statistical activities to fulfill its duties.

2. If necessary, they also supply data from their data collections and specify the method by which the survey was conducted and how the data was handled.

1. The Office advises the administrative departments of the cantonal government and the municipalities.

2. It provides them with the necessary data within the framework of Article 17 of this law.

1. The agency may establish registers of natural or legal persons or participate in their creation, provided that the registers serve statistical purposes, are in the public interest, and their maintenance is explicitly permitted by legal provisions.

2. It may use identifiers and names to maintain the registers it is tasked with managing.

3. During the creation and maintenance of registers, it is invited to provide opinions to ensure consistent treatment.

1. The multi-year program is approved by the Council of State and presented to the Great Council for information simultaneously with the legislative plan. It provides information on

a) the most important activities of the cantonal statistics;

b) the anticipated financial and personnel expenditure of the canton;

c) the effects of surveys on participants and respondents;

d) the collaboration with the federal government, other cantons, and municipalities.

1. Data collected or disclosed for statistical purposes may not be used for other purposes, unless another law explicitly mandates a different use or the person affected provides written consent.

2. Personal data or results that allow identification or inference regarding the personal situation of individual natural or legal persons may not be published in accordance with Article 26, paragraph 1, letter d of the Data Protection Act of October 12, 2023.

3. Data collected for statistical purposes shall be processed confidentially and in accordance with the legislation on data protection.

4. Persons entrusted with statistical tasks must maintain confidentiality regarding the data and any facts associated with natural and legal persons that come to their knowledge in the course of this activity.

5. This obligation particularly applies to individuals who are involved in assisting with surveys in the canton, in the municipalities, or at other agencies, or who obtain data in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 3 of this law.

**1. All entities, offices, and individuals entrusted with statistical tasks shall comply with the cantonal regulations concerning data protection. Anyone conducting a federal statistical survey or participating in its execution must adhere to the provisions of the federal statistical legislation regarding data protection and data security.**

**2. Survey material that, alongside the requested data, contains names or personal identification numbers of individuals, may only be processed by the authorized survey offices and individuals.**

**3. Anonymized personal data may be shared with public statistical offices and research institutions exclusively for statistical purposes.**

**4. These entities must provide written confirmation that they respect the cantonal provisions on data protection and statistical confidentiality.**

1. To fulfill its statistical duties, the office may link data, provided that this data is immediately anonymized after linkage or, if necessary for longitudinal comparisons, pseudonymized.

2. If particularly sensitive data is linked, or if the linkage allows for conclusions about essential aspects of an individual's personality, the entire dataset must be deleted upon completion of the statistical evaluation work. The deletion is to be communicated to the data ownership.

3. The State Council regulates the details by means of an ordinance.

1. To enable data linkage, the offices of the state and municipalities must transmit the relevant federal identifiers to the authority, provided that they use these identifiers themselves in accordance with applicable law.

1. Personal data collected for statistical purposes must be protected against any misuse through appropriate technical and organizational measures.

2. Personal data must be stored in such a way that they cannot be accessed, altered, or destroyed by unauthorized persons.

3. Name and address lists as well as survey materials with personal identification numbers created for the purpose of data collection or survey coordination may not be retained. They must be destroyed, subject to Article 14 of this law, as soon as they are no longer strictly necessary for statistical work.

1. Statistics on the status and development of the real estate market in the canton can be compiled under the conditions of this subsection.

2. In view of compiling these statistics, the following data regarding entitled persons of immovable properties in the Canton of Fribourg may be processed

a) Personal data as defined by data protection legislation;

b) Particularly sensitive personal data as defined by data protection legislation pertaining to welfare assistance, religious, political, and trade union activities, and health;

c) Tax data related to rental value and household income concerning the residence, provided by the Cantonal Tax Administration.

3. Entitled persons of immovable properties as referred to in paragraph 2 are specifically the owners and other holders of real rights, the tenants, as well as the sub-tenants.

4. The State Council shall determine by regulation

a) The personal and tax data that may be processed;

b) The methods of data processing;

c) The linking of data.

1. The State Council, after consulting the affected parties and upon the recommendation of the cantonal Commission on Public Access, Data Protection, and Mediation, designates the survey office responsible for processing the data pursuant to Article 18a paragraph 2.

2. The State Council designates the survey offices responsible for the linking of these data and determines, where applicable, which office may link which data, in compliance with Articles 17a and 17b.

1. The data collection agencies pursuant to Article 18b are funded by the State and other stakeholders who benefit from the provided statistics.

2. The State Council, based on subsidy legislation, determines the compensation corresponding to the State's share.

1. The most important statistical results and foundations are published in a user-friendly form; unpublished results are made accessible in an appropriate manner.

2. The office provides the necessary infrastructure for this purpose to other statistical producers for the dissemination of their results.

3. Subject to legally prescribed publication, the results must not allow conclusions to be drawn about the circumstances of individual natural or legal persons, which the affected person has not already made generally accessible.

4. The office consults the affected authorities before publishing special statistical studies. The independence of the publication must be ensured.

5. The affected authorities must not use the information, of which they become aware in the course of the consultation, to their advantage.

1. In addition to the duties under Articles 10, 13, 14(1), and 19(2) of this Act

a) the Office prepares special statistical evaluations and analyses for cantonal administrative units and institutions, and, within its capabilities, for municipalities and third parties;

b) the Office may perform temporary research, analysis, and advisory tasks if the client covers the costs or provides the necessary personnel.

1. Published, made accessible, or developed from public statistical data statistical results can be used and reproduced without copyright permission, provided the source is cited.

2. The State Council may provide exceptions for use for commercial purposes.

1. The State Council determines the fees for publications, services, and authorizations, taking into account the principles of public welfare and accessibility of statistics.

1. Decisions made in application of this Act may be challenged by means of an appeal in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

1. Any person who deliberately provides false or misleading information in a survey ordered under this law, or who fails to comply with the statutory duty to provide information, either not at all or incorrectly, despite a written reminder, shall be punished with a fine ranging from 100 to 10,000 francs.

1. Whoever intentionally or negligently violates the provisions of Article 16 of this law by disclosing data that must be kept confidential or using it for purposes other than statistical ones, shall be punished with a fine ranging from 100 to 10,000 Swiss francs.

2. Article 320 of the Swiss Criminal Code remains reserved.

1. Violations will be prosecuted and adjudicated according to the Justice Act.

1. The State Council determines the entry into force of this law.