1 State - People - Authorities - 15 Authorities - 152 Council of State and Cantonal Administration - Section 1: General Provisions (OR-SDK)

The Department of Security, Digitalization, and Culture (DSDC; hereinafter: the department) assumes the tasks assigned to the State in the areas of population, police, civil and military security, execution of sentences, prosecution and bankruptcy, information technology and digitalization, transportation, culture, human resources, political institutions, as well as in matters of legal services, legislation, and pension fund.

1. The department has a general secretariat.

2. It includes the following services

j) the legal service.

3. It is responsible for relations with the following entities

a) Cantonal Establishment for the Prevention and Insurance of Damage Caused by Fire and Natural Elements (ECAP);

b) Pension Fund for Public Servants of the Canton of Neuchâtel (CPCN).

1. The Head of the Department regularly meets with the Heads of Services and other entities, either in a general or individual meeting format.

2. The Secretary General participates in these meetings and ensures liaison between the Head of the Department and the services.

3. The secretariat for these meetings is managed by the General Secretariat.

1 The responsibilities of the services are established by the present regulation.

2. The assignment of special tasks or mandates is reserved.

1. The General Secretariat is responsible for coordination, planning, advisory, and information tasks.

2. Its duties include, in particular

a) advising and assisting the head of the department;

b) managing and administering the secretariat of the head of the department;

c) coordinating the department's internal activities;

d) interdepartmental coordination;

e) planning, directing, and coordinating financial management in accordance with the State and Municipal Finances Act (LFinEC), dated June 24, 2014 [3];

f) tasks assigned to the department concerning human resources;

g) internal and external communication and information in collaboration with the State Chancellery.

1. The Office of Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy is responsible, in particular, for providing all services facilitating the duties of the offices involved in matters of enforcement.

2. It informs and educates the public about the services offered by the offices and the resulting administrative, civil, or criminal consequences.

3. It conducts practical supervision of the Debt Enforcement Office and the Bankruptcy Office on behalf of the competent authority.

4. Its organization is subject to an ordinance.

**1 The Cantonal Population Office executes by delegation the tasks entrusted to the department in matters of:**

a) monitoring access to the training of lawyers and notaries;

b) organizing bar and notary examinations;

c) managing the population through the issuance of identity documents, monitoring civil status, overseeing resident registration, processing naturalization procedures and name change procedures, and controlling access to the BDP;

d) collecting judicial claims;

e) managing legal aid files;

f) realization of assets permanently allocated to the State.

**2. It supports the judicial authorities in the communication of decisions regarding:**

a) criminal records;

b) deletion of DNA profiles.

**1. The Prison Service is, within the domain of the execution of sentences and measures, the competent or executing authority according to the Swiss Criminal Code (CC), dated 21 December 1937, and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), dated 5 October 2007, unless otherwise provided by federal or cantonal law.**

2. Its field of activity notably includes

a) the implementation of the cantonal penitentiary policy;

b) the administration of detention facilities;

c) the execution of pre-trial detention, detention for security reasons, custodial sentences, and measures imposed on adults;

e) the tasks provided by the CC in the context of probation and social assistance;

f) the secretariat of the dangerousness commission;

g) acting as a liaison service with various federal, intercantonal, and cantonal authorities.

The Neuchâtel Police is governed by the Neuchâtel Police Act (LPol) of February 20, 2007, and its implementing provisions.

1. The service of civil and military security is the cantonal executing body responsible for tasks arising from

a) the Federal Act on Civil Protection and Civil Defence, dated October 4, 2002, and its federal and cantonal implementing provisions;

b) the Act on Fire Prevention, Defense against Fires and Natural Elements, and Emergency Services (LPDIENS), dated June 27, 2012, and its implementing provisions, under delegation from the Council of State, which exercises supreme oversight.

2. It oversees the inspection of chimney sweeping tariffs and their application.

3. It is responsible for the implementation, organization, and coordination of emergency services during major events, crises, and catastrophes in peacetime, in accordance with the executive regulation of the law implementing the federal legislation on civil protection and civil defense, dated May 25, 2005.

4. It administers the fund for substitute contributions for civil protection shelters and the regional civil protection fund.

1 The Civil and Military Security Service is the cantonal executing body for tasks arising from

a) the Federal Act on the Army and Military Administration (LAAM) of February 3, 1995 [9];

b) the Federal Act on the Tax for Exemption from Military Service (LTEO) of June 12, 1959 [10], and its federal and cantonal implementing provisions.

2. It executes the administrative and logistical military tasks delegated to the canton by the Confederation based on legislation and performance contracts.

1. The Civil and Military Security Service performs vehicle maintenance tasks for the benefit of State services and para-state institutions.

2. It manages the military infrastructure and facilities of the canton, located on the Colombier site and its dependencies, in accordance with the legislation in force.

1 The IT Service of the Neuchâtel Entity is responsible for the State's IT systems

2. Its main tasks include

a) proposing and implementing, through the master plan, the IT policy of the State and the partners under agreement;

b) implementing the cantonal digital strategy by orchestrating the digital transformation process;

c) studying the needs of the administration and developing comprehensive IT concepts;

d) supporting users in the use of office tools;

e) installing and managing the IT equipment of the cantonal administration and compulsory schools;

f) developing, maintaining, and operating IT applications;

g) managing the cantonal IT network and the Neuchâtel educational network;

h) operating the infrastructures of the Single Secure Portal of the Neuchâtel public entities;

i) managing databases related to individuals and businesses, useful to the entire administration;

j) managing the State's telephone network and, in collaboration with the building services, the cabling of buildings.

3. It collaborates with federal, cantonal, and municipal partners.

The transport service is responsible for the following areas of activity

a) the promotion of public transportation;

b) the planning and annual commissioning of public transport services in regional and local traffic serving the cantonal territory;

c) the coordination of services provided by public transport companies and the management of compensation for them;

d) the defense of the canton’s interests in the RER network, and in national and international railway lines.

The cultural service has the following areas of activity

a) the creation and dissemination in the various sectors of cultural and artistic activity;

b) the preservation, protection, and enhancement of cultural heritage;

c) public mediation.

1. The human resources department implements a human resources management policy that meets the needs of the cantonal administration. It proposes necessary modifications and adaptations.

2. It provides administrative services related to human resources management for the entire broad cantonal public service, as defined in the legislation concerning state personnel.

3. It ensures compliance with legislation, as well as the principles of equitable internal treatment of public function holders.

4. It offers expertise and advisory services, as well as solutions that meet the needs of the cantonal administration and its holders.

5. It may provide, under conditions it determines, administrative or advisory services to third parties.

6. It gives prior notice on projects presented to the Council of State that have implications on human resources.

1. The legal service is a central service of the State that provides its services to authorities as well as to the cantonal administration.

2. It operates in particular in the following forms

a) legal advice, opinions, and pre-reviews;

b) processing of appeals, requests, complaints, grievances, and oppositions, and preparation of decisions;

c) drafting of legislative or regulatory texts and support in legislative drafting;

d) representation of the Republic and Canton of Neuchâtel before administrative, civil, or criminal courts.

3. It ensures the management, updating, and distribution of the Systematic Compendium of Neuchâtel Legislation.

4. It manages the State's legal library.

5. It reviews legal projects submitted to the Council of State.

**The Department May Establish Specific Provisions Regarding the Tasks and Internal Organization of the Services**

The department may establish specific provisions concerning the tasks and the internal organization of the services.

The Organizational Regulation of the Department of Economy, Security, and Culture (OR-DESC), dated July 5, 2021 [11], is hereby repealed.

1. This regulation shall enter into force immediately.

2. It shall be published in the Official Gazette and inserted into the Collection of Neuchâtel Legislation.