Church Law (KiG) (KIG)

4 This Law regulates the legal status and the fundamental principles Subject Matter

of the organization of the Evangelical Reformed Cantonal Church and

its parishes, the Roman Catholic Corporation and

its parishes, as well as the Christian Catholic parish

as public law corporations.

4 Definitions

In this Act

1. Cantonal ecclesiastical corporations mean

a. the Evangelical Reformed Church,

b. the Roman Catholic Corporation,

c. the Christian Catholic Parish.

2. Church ordinances mean

the constitutions of the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations.

3. Directorate means

the Directorate of the Government Council responsible for relations with the churches.

4 1 Membership

Any person is considered a member of a cantonal ecclesiastical corporation and a church parish if they

a. are a member of the church according to the respective ecclesiastical order,

b. are domiciled in a church parish of the Canton of Zurich, and

c. have not explicitly declared their withdrawal or non-membership in the church.

2 Declarations of withdrawal or non-membership must be submitted in writing to the church council at the person's domicile.

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180.1 Church Act (KiG)

Cooperation between the Canton and cantonal ecclesiastical corporations

4 1 The Canton and the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations work

together in partnership.

2 The Canton generally communicates with the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations

through their executive bodies.

3 It gives the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations and the churches

the opportunity to comment on matters that concern them.

4 The University gives the Church Council of the Evangelical Reformed

Church of the Canton the opportunity to comment on appointment proposals of the Theological

Faculty.

Section 2: Basic Principles of Organization

A. Cantonal Ecclesiastical Corporations

Autonomy

4

1 The cantonal ecclesiastical corporations organize themselves autonomously within the framework of cantonal law.

2 They establish their organization while upholding rule-of-law and democratic principles.

3 Where the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations do not enact their own provisions, they shall apply cantonal law mutatis mutandis.

Supervision

4 1 The Cantonal Council exercises supreme state supervision over the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations. It takes note of their annual report and annual financial statements.

2 The Government Council exercises state supervision over the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations.

3 It examines the church ordinances for their conformity with the Constitution and the laws and approves them. The registers according to § 10 para. 2 do not require approval.16

Organs

4 1 The organs of the Evangelical-Reformed Regional Church

are

a. the body of eligible voters and the Church Synod as the

legislature,

b. the Church Council as the executive, and

c. the Appeals Commission as the judiciary.

2 The organs of the Roman Catholic Corporation are

a. the body of eligible voters and the Synod as the legislature,

b. the Synodal Council as the executive, and

c. the Appeals Commission as the judiciary.

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Church Law (KiG)

180.1

3 The Christian Catholic Parish shall have the organs

of a parish in accordance with § 11.

4 1 The cantonal ecclesiastical corporations are divided into parishes, with the exception of the Christian Catholic Parish.

2 They may also form ecclesiastical regions or districts.

4 The cantonal ecclesiastical corporations shall ensure a balanced tax burden among their parishes through a financial equalization scheme.

B. Parishes

16 1 The Evangelical Reformed Regional Church and the Roman Catholic Corporation shall regulate in their Church Ordinances the competence for the formation, merger, dissolution, and territorial changes of parishes.

**2 They shall specify the parishes in a list appended to the Church Ordinances.**

**3 The Christian Catholic Parish shall constitute a single parish.**

16 1 The organs of the parish municipalities are

a. the entirety of the voters and the parish assembly or, in its place, the parish parliament as the legislative body,

b. the church council as the executive body, and

c. the audit committee.

2 Pastors may not be members of the church council.

3 The church council consists of at least five members.

4 Each parish municipality regulates its organization in parish regulations. These require approval by the Church Council or the Synodal Council.

Organization

16 1 The Evangelical Reformed Church and the Roman Catholic

**Corporation regulate the supervision of their church parishes.**

**2 Insofar as the church parishes directly apply state law, they are**

**subject to the first-instance supervision of the District Council.**

**3 The Christian Catholic Church Parish is subject to the first-instance**

**supervision of the District Council of Zurich with regard to its**

**entire activity.**

### Supervision of Church Parishes

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### 180.1 Church Act (KiG)

### Election of Pastors § 13.

**1 The eligible voters of the church parishes elect the pastors for a**

**term of office of a maximum of six years. The election takes place at**

**the ballot box or in the church parish assembly.**

**2 The church regulations may stipulate that**

**a. a different procedure applies for special cases,**

**b. the re-election of pastors proposed by the church council takes**

**place by silent election.**

**3 A silent election according to subsection 2 lit. b is excluded if, within**

**30 days of the publication of the proposal, an election is requested**

**in writing:**

**a. by one-twentieth of the eligible voters in municipalities with a**

**maximum of 2000 eligible voters,**

**b. by at least 100 eligible voters in the other municipalities.**

**4 The cantonal ecclesiastical corporations regulate**

**a. the competence and procedure for the election of pastors,**

**b. the eligibility requirements and incompatibilities,**

**c. early dismissal.**

### Use of School Rooms and Churches § 14.

**1 The church parishes have a claim against the political municipalities**

**and the school municipalities for the gratuitous use of public school**

**rooms for church youth instruction.**

**2 The political municipalities have a claim to use churches that are**

**owned by the ecclesiastical corporations or are primarily maintained**

**by them, as well as their bells, against reasonable compensation, for**

**the fulfillment of public tasks. The use must not impair divine service.**

**3 Disputes are decided by the District Council.**

### Access to Personal Data § 15.

**1 The cantonal ecclesiastical corporations receive free of charge from**

**the residents' register of the municipality of residence and the registers**

**of the school municipalities the information they need to fulfill their**

**ecclesiastical tasks.**

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### Church Act (KiG)

180.1

**2 The church parishes of the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations**

**receive free of charge from the residents' register of the municipality**

**of residence and the registers of the school municipalities the**

**information they need to record their members or to fulfill their**

**ecclesiastical tasks.**

**3 The Government Council regulates by ordinance the reporting obligation**

**for children whose affiliation with a recognized ecclesiastical**

**corporation or a recognized Jewish community does not result from**

**the parental circumstances.**

4 The pastors of the recognized ecclesiastical bodies are entitled to admission to pastoral care in institutions of the Canton and the municipalities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, or prisons.

4 Application of the Provisions of the

Parish councils are subject to the provisions of the Municipal Law analogously applicable. Reserved are deviating provisions of this law or the organizational regulations of the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations.

C. Elections and Ballots at the Polls16

15 1 The cantonal ecclesiastical corporations shall designate the electoral authority responsible for ecclesiastical elections and referendums at the ballot box.

2 The electoral authority may transfer the tasks of electoral management, in whole or in part

a. to the Canton for cantonal ecclesiastical elections and referendums,

b. to a district, entirely or partially located in the respective territory, for elections and referendums in the ecclesiastical regions and districts,

c. to a political municipality, entirely or partially located in the respective territory, for elections and referendums in the parishes.

3 The ballot box service and the counting service shall in all cases be carried out by the electoral offices of the political municipalities.

4 State bodies shall apply the law of the ecclesiastical corporations. Their orders may be challenged before the same appellate body as corresponding orders of the ecclesiastical bodies in whose place they act.

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Church Act (KiG)

State

Legal Protection

Ecclesiastical

Legal Protection

5 The Canton, the districts, and the political municipalities are obliged to undertake the tasks of electoral management against reimbursement of expenses and reasonable compensation.

D. Legal Protection15

16 1 The following acts of public bodies are appealable

a. Acts of organs of the Evangelical-Reformed Regional Church

and the Roman Catholic Corporation, to the extent that they are directly

based on state law,

b. all acts of organs of the Old Catholic Parish.

2 The jurisdiction of the appellate body is determined by analogous

application of cantonal administrative procedural law.

15 1 The Evangelical-Reformed Regional Church and the Roman-

Catholic Corporation ensure legal protection equivalent to cantonal law.

2 Acts of their organs can be appealed as a final instance to the judiciary of the

cantonal ecclesiastical corporation.

3 The Church Order may

a. exclude appeal to the judiciary for decisions of a predominantly political nature,

b. exceptionally stipulate appeal to the Administrative Court, excluding the assessment of cultic questions.

Contributions to Costs

Section 3: Finances

A. State Contributions

4 1 The Canton shall approve contributions to the cantonal ecclesiastical

bodies with a global budget.**

**2 It shall support their activities of significance for the entire

society with these contributions, particularly in the areas of education,

social affairs, and culture.**

**3 The cantonal ecclesiastical bodies shall receive contributions

if they establish their own programs for the provision of activities of

significance for the entire society.**

**4 They shall determine the activity programs for a period of six

years each. The Directorate shall be consulted in this regard.**

**5 Contributions to the cantonal ecclesiastical bodies based on

other legal foundations remain reserved.**

**Church Law (KiG)**

**180.1**

4 1 The Cantonal Council, by means of a framework credit, determines the total amount

of contributions to the cantonal ecclesiastical bodies for a contribution period of six years. The of the contributions

Government Council decides on the annual allocation of the framework credit.

2 Based on the amount set in the transitional provisions for the first contribution period, the total amount for the contributions is guided by the total number of members of the cantonal ecclesiastical bodies at the end of the respective preceding contribution period.

3 When determining the total amount, the activity programs for both the current and the following period, the relevant reporting, and the development of inflation are taken into account.

4 1 The Directorate approves the annual shares of the individual cantonal ecclesiastical bodies in the cost contributions for a contribution period of six years.

2 The shares of the cantonal ecclesiastical bodies are paid out as annual lump-sum contributions and are calculated based on the number of their members.

3 If the activity programs of the cantonal ecclesiastical bodies show differences whose scope significantly deviates from the proportion of their member numbers, the activity programs may be taken into account when calculating the corresponding shares.

Shares for the

individual ecclesiastical

bodies

4 Reporting

1. The cantonal ecclesiastical bodies shall report to the Directorate at the end of each funding period on the use of the cost contributions and on the effects and effectiveness of the implemented activity program.

2. The Directorate may request the evaluation of individual points of the activity programs. The Canton shall bear half of the costs of such an evaluation.

3. Unused cost contributions must be refunded to the Canton.

4 1 Disputes concerning the distribution of legal protection

shares in cost contributions to the cantonal ecclesiastical

bodies are decided by the Government Council.

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180.1 Church Law (KiG)

2 Recourse decisions of the Government Council can be challenged by the cantonal

ecclesiastical bodies through an appeal to the Administrative Court.

3 The procedure is governed by the provisions of the Administrative

Justice Act10.

Implementing

Provisions

4 The Government Council shall regulate in an ordinance the details

concerning cost contributions and the determination of the shares of

the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations.

B. Taxes of natural and and legal persons

4 1 The parishes shall levy church tax on members of their

denomination and on legal entities in accordance with the Tax Law of

8 June 199711. This law shall apply directly.14

2 The proceeds from church taxes on legal entities

may not be used for religious purposes. The cantonal ecclesiastical

bodies shall collectively account for the use of these tax revenues.

3 Furthermore, the ecclesiastical bodies shall independently

determine the use of the tax revenues.

C. Ecclesiastical Properties Owned by the Canton

3 1 The Grossmünster and the monastery churches of Kappel and

Rheinau are owned by the Canton.

2 Their use is regulated with regard to

a. the Grossmünster and the monastery church of Kappel by virtue of contracts between the Canton and the Evangelical Reformed

Church of the Canton,

b. the monastery church of Rheinau by virtue of a contract between the

Canton and the Roman Catholic Corporation.

3 Legal protection is governed by §§ 81 et seq. of the Administrative

Justice Act10.14.

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Church Act (KiG)

4th Section: Final Provisions

A. Repeal and Amendment of Existing Law

180.1

4 Existing contracts between the ecclesiastical bodies of public law and the Insurance Fund for State Personnel are not affected by the enactment of this Law.

Here is the English translation of the law article

3 Transfer of Ecclesiastical Properties

1 Parsonage properties and churches owned by the Canton shall be transferred into the ownership of the respective church parishes within a period to be determined by the Government Council.

2 Excluded are the churches listed under Section 26 of this Act.

3 The transfer of parsonage properties shall be effected with a capitalized compensation for the redemption of the maintenance obligation. The modalities for the transfer of churches shall be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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Church Act (KiG)

Repurposing of Ecclesiastical Properties

Term of Office of Ministers

15 1 As a rule, the Directorate waives rights and claims of the Canton arising from a contract concerning the transfer of an ecclesiastical property if, after its change of use, it serves a charitable purpose.

2 If, for ecclesiastical properties owned by church parishes, contracts and annotations in the land register assign the authority to approve changes of use or dispositions to the Government Council, then the executive body of the relevant cantonal ecclesiastical corporation shall be responsible for this.

3 If a church parish, upon acquiring an ecclesiastical property from the Canton, committed to make a payment to the Canton in the event of a change of use or disposition of the property, this payment obligation shall cease in accordance with the contractual agreement, but no later than 20 years after the acquisition of the property.

Here is the translation of the law article into English

**4 The term of office of the female pastors or male pastors elected by the electorate, the Government Council, and the Church Council ends at the time of the entry into force of this Act.**

**Annex 4**

The following laws are amended as follows

a. The Municipal Act of June 6, 1926⁶: . . .⁵

b. The Act on Political Rights of September 1, 2003⁷: . . .⁵

c. ...¹³

d. The District Administration Act of March 10, 1985⁹: . . .⁵

e. The Administrative Justice Act of May 24, 1959¹⁰: . . .⁵

f. The Tax Act of June 8, 1997¹¹: . . .⁵

g. The Inheritance and Gift Tax Act of September 28, 1986¹²:...⁵

---

¹ OS 62, 482.

² ABI 2006, 573.

³ Sections 26 and 32 in force since January 1, 2008 (OS 62, 499).

⁴ Entry into force: January 1, 2010 (OS 63, 152).

⁵ Text see OS 62, 482.

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**Church Act (KiG)**

**180.1**

⁶ LS 131.1.

⁷ LS 161.

⁸ LS 171.1.

⁹ LS 173.1.

¹⁰ LS 175.2.

¹¹ LS 631.1.

¹² LS 632.1.

¹³ Repealed by the Financial Control Act of June 30, 2008 (OS 63, 543; ABI

2007, 2325). In force since January 1, 2009.

¹⁴ Version according to the Act on the Adaptation of Cantonal Administrative Procedure Law of March 22, 2010 (OS 65, 390; ABI 2009, 801). In force since July 1, 2010.

¹⁵ Inserted by Act of August 28, 2017 (OS 73, 117; ABI 2016-09-23). In force

since April 1, 2018.

¹⁶ Version according to Act of August 28, 2017 (OS 73, 117; ABI2016-09-23). In force

since April 1, 2018.

¹⁷ Version according to Act of August 28, 2017 (OS 73, 117; ABI2016-09-23). In force

since January 1, 2021.

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the Evangelical-Reformed Regional Church of July 7, 1963 and the Law on Catholic Church Affairs of July 7, 1963 are repealed.

B. Transitional Provisions

Amendment

Contributions

The cost contributions to be paid by legal entities amount to CHF 50 million per year for the first contribution period.

2 The first contribution period lasts four years. It begins with the entry into force of this Act; if it enters into force during the year, it begins on 1 January of the following year.

Total Amount of Contributions

The total amount of funds to be expended for the remuneration of the evangelical-reformed pastors under previous law has been determined. The difference between this amount and the cost contributions to be paid annually to the Evangelical-Reformed Church for the first contribution period will be reduced to zero within four years.

2 The reduction will be linear, in four steps, at the beginning of each new year.