Ordinance on the Co-determination Rights of Court and Notary Staff

7 This Ordinance governs the right of participation of the employees of the courts and notaries' offices, the staff committees, and the staff associations in relation to the High Court (Plenary Court and Administrative Commission).

7 The Ordinance applies *mutatis mutandis* to all courts and notary publics; further-reaching or restrictive provisions are excluded. In organizational matters, the individual courts and notary publics shall make the arrangements appropriate for their respective areas, which require the approval of the Administrative Commission.

II. Scope and Content of the Right to Participate

7 1 Employees of courts and notariats as well as staff committees and staff associations shall have a right of co-determination in judicial administration matters, in accordance with the following provisions, insofar as they or the employees represented by them are affected thereby.

2 Judicial administration matters include, in particular

a. terms of employment,

b. operational and work organization,

c. training and further education of personnel,

d. health, safety, and welfare of personnel,

e. salary increases, transfers, and terminations,

f. granting of leave,

g. staff events.

3 In urgent cases, the granting of co-determination rights may exceptionally be waived, particularly for the protection of personnel safety.

The right of participation includes the right to information, the right to propose, the right to be heard, and the right to consultation.

1 The right to information encompasses the entitlement of affected

employees to be informed about judicial administrative matters,

whereby the decision-makers have a corresponding duty to inform

and, upon request from the affected parties regarding decisions already rendered,

a duty to provide explanations.7

2 The information must be provided in a timely manner and in such a way as to ensure

participation.

1 The Right to Make Proposals includes the right of employees to submit suggestions to the competent decision-maker.

2 The Right to Make Proposals shall generally be exercised in writing.

3 The decision-makers must take a position on the proposals submitted.

1. The right to be heard encompasses the right of the employee to be heard in relation to individual, specific directives that concern them.7

2. The right to be heard can be exercised verbally or in writing.

1 The right to be heard encompasses the right of staff committees and staff associations to express their opinion when generally abstract norms are enacted or measures of general scope are ordered.

2 The right to be heard must generally be exercised in writing.

III. Duties and Election of Staff Committees

7 The Staff Committees exercise the rights of co-determination described in §§ 3–6 and 8. The rights of co-determination of individual employees remain reserved.

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7 The following personnel committees shall be formed

a. Committee of District Judges and Full-time Substitute Judges of the District Court of Zurich and the courts affiliated thereto,

b. Committee of District Judges and Full-time Substitute Judges of the other District Courts and the courts affiliated thereto,

c. Committee of Ordinary and Extraordinary Senior Court Clerks of the District Courts and the courts affiliated thereto,

d. Committee of Ordinary and Extraordinary Court Clerks of the High Court,

e. Committee of Ordinary and Extraordinary Court Clerks and Auditors of the District Court of Zurich and the courts affiliated thereto,

f. Committee of Ordinary and Extraordinary Court Clerks and Auditors of the other District Courts and the courts affiliated thereto,

g. Committee of Non-legal Civil Servants and Employees of the High Court and the courts affiliated thereto,

h. Committee of Non-legal Civil Servants and Employees of the District Court of Zurich and the courts affiliated thereto,

i. Committee of Non-legal Civil Servants and Employees of the other District Courts and the courts affiliated thereto,

k. Committee of Public Notaries,

l. General Personnel Committee.

1 The committees of the courts consist of three members.

An equal number of substitutes are elected.

2 The committee of the notariats consists of three representatives

each from the notaries, the deputy notaries, and the other employees. Each

of these personnel groups also elects three substitutes. For matters

concerning only one or two personnel groups of the notariats, the

representatives of the affected personnel group(s) form the committee.7

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3 Substitutes succeed members who have lost their eligibility

for election to the respective personnel committee or have resigned. They

also deputize for absent members and may be called upon

with an advisory vote to expand the committee in individual cases if needed.

4 The general personnel committee consists of 13 members,

namely one member from each of the nine court committees and four

members from the notariat committee, specifically one representative

each from the notaries and the deputy notaries, and two

representatives from the notariat employees.7

1 All employees of the courts and notariats who have been in a public-law employment relationship for not less than 30 days before the election date are eligible to vote and stand for election.

2 The respective function is decisive for eligibility to vote and stand for election to a staff committee and for the exercise of the mandate.

3 Further details shall be determined by the Administrative Commission of the High Court.

The term of office for the members and alternate members of the Staff Committees is four years.

7 1 For the conduct of the elections for the personnel committees,

the Administrative Commission shall appoint an election office of five

members; the chairperson shall be the Secretary-General of the High Court.

2 The maintenance of the register of eligible voters and the

preparation of the elections shall be the responsibility of the High Court's Secretary-General's Office.

1 The election date must be announced to the staff at least 60 days in

advance. This announcement must be combined with a request

to submit nominations, signed by at least three eligible voters, in writing

no later than 30 days before the election day. These nominations must include

a declaration from the candidates stating that they accept any potential

election.

2 At least ten days before the election date, the list of candidates and the

ballot papers must be sent to the eligible voters. Eligible voters who do not

receive these documents in time must immediately request them from

the General Secretariat of the High Court.

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3 The election is conducted by correspondence. Valid are the

election envelopes that are postmarked by the post office or the

High Court Registry no later than on the election day.

4 Further election provisions are issued by the Administrative

Commission of the High Court.

Only one ballot will be held. The election will be decided by a simple majority of votes. In the event of a tie, the lot will be cast.

7 The proposed candidates shall be declared elected by the Administrative Commission of the High Court if no more candidates have been nominated than there are seats available (silent election procedure).

The election office determines the election result within a period of ten days from the election date and communicates it to the staff via circular.

7 1 An appeal against the election results may be submitted, in writing and stating the grounds, to the General Secretariat of the High Court within ten days from the date of notification.

2 The Appeals Commission of the High Court shall make a final decision on an election appeal.

7 In other respects, the Federal Act on Political Rights² and the

corresponding Ordinance³ apply analogously.

The Staff Committees shall constitute themselves within 30 days

from the legal validity of the election. At the same time, they shall designate their representation

in the General Staff Committee.

1 The meetings of the Staff Committees shall be convened as needed

by the President or upon request of a

member.

2 Invitations shall be issued at least eight days in advance, subject to urgent cases.

3 The Staff Committee shall have a quorum if the majority of its members are present.

1 Elections and votes shall be open. There is an obligation to vote.

2 The simple majority shall decide. In case of a tie, the President shall have the casting vote.7

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3 The losing minorities are entitled to express and justify their diverging views in consultations and proposals.

1 The personnel committees must appropriately inform the personnel they represent about important matters, for example, through circulars, meetings, etc. Section 30 remains reserved.

2 At least a decision-making minute (Beschlussprotokoll) shall be kept for the meetings of the personnel committees. Matters subject to Section 30 must be recorded in a separate minute.

3 Each court or the Notary Inspectorate shall designate a person to whom copies of the minutes of the committees and of the General Personnel Committee not subject to Section 30, as well as further documents, shall be delivered for safekeeping and for inspection by the personnel represented by the committee.

7 The expense allowances of the committee members are

determined according to the provisions of the Implementing Ordinance to the Personnel Act5.

IV. Legal Protection7

7 Those entitled to participate may appeal against the violation of the rights granted to them in this Ordinance.

1. The appeal is directed

a. against orders of a District Court, a President of a District Court, or the President of a court affiliated with the District Court, a notary public, the Notary Inspectorate, a Chamber President of the High Court, and the Secretary-General to the Administrative Commission of the High Court,

b. against first-instance orders of the Administrative Commission of the High Court to the Appeal Commission of the High Court.

2. The decision on the complaint is final.

In the event of a violation of participation rights, the authority that issued the order will be instructed to grant the participation rights. It must issue a new order. If it confirms the original order, it must provide reasons for doing so.

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7 1 The appealing party must be granted the right to be heard.

They may be represented.

2 Before the decision on the appeal, the lower instance must be heard.

V. Duty of Confidentiality and Prohibition of Disadvantageous Treatment

1 When exercising the right of co-determination, confidentiality must be observed regarding facts whose secrecy is required by the interest of those affected.

2 Third parties and staff committees may only be granted access to personnel files with the written consent of those affected.

1 Members of staff committees and other employees of courts and notariats may not suffer any disadvantages because of the proper exercise of their right to codetermination.

2 The right to codetermination may be exercised during working hours.

VI. Entry into force

This Ordinance shall enter into force upon its enactment by the Administrative Commission of the High Court.

1 OS 47, 195 and GS II, 108.

2 LS 161.

3 LS 161.1.

4 LS 177.10.

5 LS 177.111.

6 LS 211.251.

7 Version in accordance with decision of 3 November 2010 (OS 65, 846; ABI 2010, 2525). In force since 1 January 2011.

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