Šveicarijos Konfederacijos parlamento konstitucinis statusas
The Swiss Confederation is characterised by a long constitutional evolution that can be divided into several important periods: the Old Swiss Confederacy (13–14 C.), Helvetica (1798–1848), Mediation (1803–1814), Restoration (1815–1830), Regeneration (1830–1848) and development since 1874. It can be stated that Switzerland adopted a modern, democratic constitution early; this state is the oldest democratic republic in Europe. In 1874, many amendments to the effective Constitution were made and a lot of gaps in legal regulation came to light, which led to the opinion that in order to remove those shortcomings, a few specific amendments were no longer sufficient; therefore, it was decided to make substantial changes to the Constitution. The new Constitution was approved by the people and the cantons in the referendum of 18 April 1999 and came into effect on 1 January 2000. The most significant features of this Constitution include the entrenchment of the principles of democracy, federalism, and of the state of law and social welfare. Pursuant to the principle of division of governmental powers, the governing of the state is carried out by the following federal institutions: the Federal Assembly, the Bundesrat and the Federal Court. The Federal Assembly, which takes into consideration the rights of the people and the cantons in its decision-making, is the supreme governing power of the Federation; it is granted superiority over the other powers, the Bundesrat and the Federal Court. This can be explained by the fact that its members are elected by the people in direct and democratic elections, and that it is assigned exclusive powers in the fields of legislation and supervision of other institutions. Nevertheless, the aforementioned position expressing the superiority of the Parliament does not change the essence of the principle of division of governmental powers that has long been the foundation of the Swiss Constitutions.elected according to the proportional representation system. The term of office is four years. The Council of States is made up of 46 canton deputies. Their term of office and system of election is determined by the individual cantons. The Federal Assembly can only exercise its assigned powers when matching decisions are made by the councils meeting separately. To exercise certain powers (election of members of the Bundesrat, the Federal Chancellor, Federal Court judges and the General; resolution of conflicts of competence between the supreme institutions of the Federation; granting clemency) they meet together and act as the United Federal Assembly. Activity of the members of the Federal Assembly is based on the principle of the free mandate. It is notable that the members of the Federal Assembly may retain their previous position during their term of office but, in order to ensure transparency in non-parliamentary ties and activities, they must disclose their interest ties. The Federal Assembly together with the Bundesrat are institutions that are fairly independent from each other, governing the state with regard to strategic issues, legislation, planning and formation of the budget and implementation of foreign policy; together they allow to describe Switzerland's form of government as exceptional, having some features of both the parliamentary and the presidential form of government. ; Straipsnyje analizuojama Šveicarijos Konfederacijos parlamento teisinė padėtis pagal šiuo metu šalyje galiojančią 1999 m. balandžio 18 d. referendume priimtą Konstituciją, įsigaliojusią 2000 m. sausio 1 d. Trumpai apžvelgus konstitucionalizmo raidą šalyje, pirmiausia aptariami pagrindiniai Konstitucijoje įtvirtinti valstybinės santvarkos ir politinės visuomenės pamatus grindžiantys principai, be abejo, lemiantys ir parlamento statusą šalyje, konstatuojant, kad Šveicarija yra demokratinė, federalinė, socialinė ir teisinė valstybė. Remiantis Konstitucijoje implicitiškai įtvirtintu valdžių padalijimo principu, atskleidžiama parlamento vieta valstybės valdžią įgyvendinančių institucijų sistemoje, akcentuojant jo viršenybę kitų institucijų atžvilgiu. Aptarus palamento – Federalinio susirinkimo – struktūrą, apžvelgiami jį sudarančių rūmų – Nacionalinės tarybos ir Kantonų tarybos – ypatumai. Toliau straipsnyje apžvelgiami parlamento įgaliojimai, pagrindiniai jo veiklos principai bei narių teisinio statuso esminiai bruožai.