(Art. 8 para. 1 GAOA)

¹ The Federal Administration is divided into the central and the decentralised administration.

² Public or private entities that have been created by statute and predominantly provide services of a monopolistic nature or perform economic or security supervisory tasks fall within the scope of the decentralised federal administration.

³ External providers of administrative tasks within the meaning of Article 2 paragraph 4 GAOA that predominantly provide services on the market are not part of the Federal Administration's. This also applies to private law entities which the Confederation supports with financial assistance or contributions under Article 3 of the Subsidies Act of 5 October 1990¹⁷ or in which it holds a minority interest.

(Art. 2 par. 1 and 2 as well as Art. 43 and 44 GAOA)

¹ The Central Federal Administration comprises:

a.

the departments and the Federal Chancellery;

b.

the general secretariats of the departments and their other subdivisions;

c.

the groups;

d.¹⁸

the federal offices and their subdivisions.

² Administrative units in accordance with paragraph 1 letters c and d may also have other names.

³ The administrative units listed in paragraph 1 letters b-d shall be subordinate to a department. They are bound by the department's directives.

⁴ Federal offices may be combined into groups if this improves the manageability of the department.

(Art. 2 para. 3 GAOA)

¹ The Decentralised Federal Administration comprises the following four categories of administrative units:

a.

the extra-parliamentary commissions pursuant to Article 57a GAOA;

b.

the administrative units that are organisationally independent by law that do not have legal personality;

c.

the legally independent public corporations and foundations as well as institutions established by statute, unless they predominantly provide services on the market;

d.

companies limited by shares which the Confederation controls in terms of capital and voting rights, unless they predominantly provide services on the market.

² The administrative units in accordance with paragraph 1 letters a and b are not bound by directives in the performance of their duties unless the law provides otherwise.

The administrative units of the Decentralised Federal Administration are by law:

a.

affiliated to the Federal Chancellery or one of the departments; and

b.

assigned to a category in accordance with Article 7a paragraph 1.

¹ Annex 1 contains an exhaustive list including the affiliated department of:

a.

the administrative units of the Central Federal Administration, but not including the further subdivisions of the federal offices;

b.

the administrative units of the Decentralised Federal Administration, with the exception of the extra-parliamentary commissions.

² Annex 2 contains an exhaustive list of the extra-parliamentary commissions and their affiliated departments.

¹ Extra-parliamentary commissions are either administrative or executive commissions, depending on their function.

² Administrative commissions have advisory and preparatory functions.

³ Executive commissions have decision-making powers.

¹ Any person who fulfils the requirements for employment in the Federal Administration may be elected as a member of an extra-parliamentary commission.

² There is no age restriction for election.²⁰

¹ At least of the members of an extra-parliamentary commission must be women, and at least 40 per cent must be men. In the longer term, equal representation of both genders should be aimed for.

² If the proportion of women or men is less than 40 per cent, the Federal Chancellery shall request the department concerned to provide written justification.

¹ As far as possible, German, French and Italian speakers must be represented in the extra-parliamentary commissions. At least one Romansh-speaking person should be sought.

² If German, French and Italian are not represented by at least one person, the Federal Chancellery shall request the department concerned to provide written justification.

¹ Exceeding the statutory maximum number of members of extra-parliamentary commissions is only permitted in exceptional cases and must be justified.

² An excess number of members is justified in particular if:

a.

two or more commissions are merged;

b.

a balanced composition is only possible with a higher number of members;

c.

because of the importance of the police field for which the commission is responsible, a broader inclusion of different points of view is required.

¹ Extra-parliamentary commissions shall be established by order of the Federal Council.

² The establishment order shall have the following in particular as content:

a.

It justifies the need for the commission and describes its tasks in detail.

b.²³

…

c.²⁴

It states the number of members and, if applicable, the reasons for exceeding the legal maximum number of members.

d.²⁵

…

e.

It regulates how the commission is organised.

f.

It regulates reporting procedures and the provision of information to the public.

g.

It regulates the duty of confidentiality.

g^bis.²⁶

It specifies the remuneration category to which the commission belongs in accordance with Articles 8n and 8p and Annex 2.

h.

It determines the rights to use any copyright-protected works and processes that may be produced.

i.

If necessary, it regulates the relations of the commission with cantons, parties and other organisations.

j.²⁷

It assigns the commission to the competent authority (a department or the Federal Chancellery) and designates the administrative office that provides the secretariat for the commission.

k.²⁸

It names the body responsible for financing the extra-parliamentary commission.

l.²⁹

It regulates the Commission's right to information in dealings with the Administration.

m.³⁰ For extra-parliamentary commissions entrusted with supervisory or regulatory tasks, it contains the profile of requirements for their members.

The Federal Council shall elect the members. It shall determine their function insofar as this is not indicated by provisions in specific legislation on the organisation of the commission concerned.

¹ The Federal Council may set a waiting period in its decision electing members of commissions entrusted with supervisory and regulatory tasks if it is to be expected that the immediate appointment of a member after leaving the commission to a position with employers or clients in the area supervised or regulated will lead to a conflict of interest.

² A conflict of interest exists in particular if:

a.

the credibility and reputation of the commission or the Confederation may be adversely affected by the appointment;

b.

a commission member has influence over individual decisions or access to information in such a way that he or she would no longer appear to be impartial if he or she worked for an employer or client in the regulated or supervised sector.

³ The duration of the waiting period shall be a minimum of six and a maximum of twelve months.

⁴ Compensation may be stipulated for the waiting period. It shall correspond to in the financial loss to be expected in the individual case but shall not exceed the remuneration previously received, whereby all income, expenses and pension benefits received in this period shall be taken into account.

⁵ Any person who receives compensation during a waiting period allowance is obliged to report the income, expenses and pension benefits received during the waiting period to the competent department.

⁶ Any waiting period compensation received without justification must be refunded.

¹ Each member of the Commission shall provide information on his:

a.

professional activities;

b.

activities in management and supervisory bodies and on advisory boards and similar bodies of Swiss and foreign private and public corporations, institutions and foundations;

c.

advisory or expert activities for federal bodies;

d.

permanent management or advisory activities for Swiss and foreign interest groups;

e.

participation in other federal organs.

² Professional secrecy in terms of the Criminal Code³⁴ remains reserved.

³ Members of commissions shall immediately notify the department concerned of any change in their interests during the term of office. The department shall update the list in accordance with Article 8k.³⁵

⁴ Members of commissions who have not fully disclosed their interests at the time of election or who have not reported changes to their interests during the term of office and who fail to do so even after being requested to do so by the competent authority may be removed.³⁶

¹ Commission members may use information that is not publicly known that they obtain in the course of their commission activities only for their commission activities.

² In particular, they may not use information under paragraph 1 to gain an advantage for themselves or others.

¹ The term of office of members of extra-parliamentary commissions shall be four years. It is based on the legislature period of the National Council. It begins on 1 January und ends on 31 December.³⁸

² The mandate of members elected during the term of office shall end on its expiry.

¹ The Federal Council shall hold general elections for each new term of office of the extra-parliamentary commissions.

² The Federal Chancellery shall coordinate the general elections. It shall issue the corresponding directives for this purpose and shall make them known to the Federal Assembly control committees.

³ After the general elections, the Federal Chancellery shall submit a report to the Federal Council on the composition of the extra-parliamentary commissions for the attention of the Federal Assembly.

¹ The term of office of members of extra-parliamentary commissions shall be limited to a total of twelve years; it shall end on the expiry of the corresponding calendar year.

² In justified individual cases, the Federal Council may extend the term of office to a maximum of 16 years.

³ The term limit does not apply to federal employees whose membership is necessary for the performance of their duties or is made mandatory by another enactment.

¹ Each extra-parliamentary commission shall have a secretariat that shall be run by an office in the Central Federal Administration.

² The head and the other employees of the Secretariat are subject to the federal law on personnel that applies in the Central Federal Administration.

³ Derogating provisions of specific legislation or provisions in the election order shall remain reserved.

Commissions that may in terms of their election order communicate without consulting the competent authority shall exercise due restraint when providing the public with information on political issues.

¹ In accordance with the organisational legislation, the Federal Council shall elect the members of the management bodies of federal public organisations, in particular the members of the management boards of federal institutions.⁴⁴

^1bis Where the election is the responsibility of another electoral body or organisational legislation under public or private law provides for the representation of the Confederation on a management body, the Federal Council shall appoint or elect the members of the corresponding management body, in particular the representatives of the Confederation to be elected by the general meeting and the representatives to be appointed in accordance with Articles 762 and 926 of the Code of Obligations⁴⁵.⁴⁶

² The Federal Council shall draw up a requirements profile for each organisation containing the personal and professional requirements for a representative. It shall exercise its right to elect and appoint on the basis of this requirement profile.

¹ The Federal Council may set a waiting period in the election resolution for members of administrative and institutional councils of federal institutions entrusted with supervisory and regulatory duties if it is to be expected that the immediate appointment of a member after leaving the administrative and institutional council to a position with employers or clients in the supervised or regulated area will lead to a conflict of interest.

² A conflict of interest exists in particular if:

a.

the credibility and reputation of the institution concerned or of the Confederation may be adversely affected by this appointment;

b.

a council member has influence over individual decisions or access to information in such a way that he or she would no longer appear to be impartial if he or she worked for an employer or client in the regulated or supervised sector.

³ Article 8e^ter paragraphs 3-6 apply mutatis mutandis.

¹ The Federal Chancellery, with the cooperation of the departments, shall publish in electronic form a list of the members of non-parliamentary commissions, the members of the governing bodies of federal organisations and the representatives of the Confederation in organisations under public or private law.⁴⁹

² The list shall contain the following information on the persons referred to in paragraph 1:

a.

surname and first name;

b.

gender;

c.

mother tongue;

d.

year of birth;

e.

title;

f.⁵⁰

relevant outside interests;

g.⁵¹

canton according to correspondence address.

³ …⁵²

⁴ Once the election has been held, the data shall be made available until the person leaves the body concerned.

⁵ They may be historicised for statistical purposes.

Any person who has been elected as a member or as a substitute member of an extra-parliamentary commission and who serves on that commission shall be entitled to remuneration in terms of this Section.

The extra-parliamentary administrative and executive commissions are subdivided in terms of the remuneration of their members into:

a.

social policy commissions that support the Federal Assembly, the Federal Council and the Federal Administration and deal primarily with social policy issues;

b.

market policy commissions that supervise or significantly support the functioning of a market.

¹ The social policy commissions shall be allocated to the following remuneration categories with regard to the remuneration of their members in accordance with the requirements for the members and with the tasks of the commission:

a.

Category G3, if the commission's activities require a high level of specific expertise from its members, namely if the members must be technical authorities in the commission's field and possess knowledge that cannot be acquired at short notice;

b.

Category G2, if the commission's activities require a high level of general expertise from its members and the commission has sovereign decision-making powers;

c.

Category G1, if the commission's activities require a high level of general expertise from its members and the commission has advisory tasks.

² The allocation of the social policy commissions to the compensation categories is regulated in Annex 2 number 1.⁵⁵

¹ The members and substitute members of social policy commissions are entitled to a daily allowance for their commission activities.

² The rates listed in Annex 2 Number 1 apply. These apply to the Vice-President and to the other members.⁵⁶

³ The President shall receive a daily allowance of 25 per cent more. In justified exceptional cases, the competent authority may pay the President a maximum of twice the daily allowance.

^3bis If the specific legislation or the establishment order requires a member of a commission to be independent of the industry whose activities fall within the commission's remit, and if this restricts the member in the exercise of his or her professional activities, the competent authority may:

a.

increase his or her daily allowance by a maximum of 50 per cent; in the case of the President, a daily allowance that has been increased in accordance with paragraph 3 shall be taken into account; and

b.

pay the member a lump sum of no more than CHF 30,000 per year in addition to his or her daily allowance; the lump sums paid shall be shown and justified in the report on the general elections in accordance with Article 8h paragraph 3.⁵⁷

⁴ If a member is exceptionally required to work outside of meetings and inspections in studying files and reports or preparing papers, the competent authority may pay him or her a maximum of 16 additional daily allowances per year. If an assignment stipulated in the specific legislation requires more time or effort, the competent authority may authorise the payment of more than 16 additional daily allowances in individual cases. If more than the 16 additional daily allowances are paid, this shall be reported and justified in the report on the general elections pursuant to Article 8h paragraph 3.⁵⁸

⁵ If a member of the Commission has to leave his or her place of residence on the day before the meeting or is only able to return there on the day after the meeting, the competent authority shall pay him or her half a daily allowance for the day of travel.

⁶ It is not permitted to claim several daily allowances for one and the same day, even if several different or separately calculable activities have been carried out.

⁷ The rates are not adjusted to take account of inflation.

¹ The market policy commissions shall be allocated to the following compensation categories with regard to the compensation of their members depending on the impact of the results of their work:

a.

Category M3, if the results of the commission's work have an impact on the national economy as a whole;

b.

Category M2/A, if the results of the commission's work have an influence on an entire industry;

c.

Category M2/B, if the results of the commission's work have an influence on an entire industry, but the commission only supports the functioning of a market and does not supervise it;

d.

Category M1, if the results of the commission's work have an influence on an industrial sector or if the commission performs tasks involving arbitration.

² The allocation of the market policy commissions to the remuneration categories is regulated in Annex 2 paragraph 2.⁵⁹

¹ The members of market policy commissions are entitled to lump-sum compensation for their commission activities.

² The rates listed in Annex 2 number 2 apply.⁶⁰

³ These rates include all costs, with the exception of the reimbursement of expenses.

⁴ The rates apply to a full-time workload; the basis for calculation is 220 working days per year. In the case of part-time positions, the degree of employment shall be determined in the election resolution, if it is not specified in the regulations on the organisation of the commission concerned.⁶¹

⁵ The rates are not adjusted to take account of inflation.

¹ The reimbursement of expenses for members and substitute members of extra-parliamentary commissions shall be governed by the corresponding provisions for federal staff.

² Members who are required to take special organisational measures to look after children or relatives in need of care in order to work for the commission may apply to the competent authority for reimbursement of their expenses.⁶²

¹ Members and substitute members of extra-parliamentary commissions who are in an employment relationship with the Central or Decentralised Federal Administration are not entitled to remuneration.

² The competent authority may grant exceptions if membership of the commission is not connected with employment with the Central or Decentralised Federal Administration.

³ Remuneration for business trips, meals and overnight stays shall be in accordance with the provisions applicable to such members.

Members of extra-parliamentary commissions may only be remunerated at the rates applicable to their commission. Additional remuneration for activities related to the mandate of the Commission shall be excluded.

(Art. 3 GAOA)

The Federal Administration shall act within the bounds of federal law and of the aims and priorities set by the Federal Council. It shall observe the following principles in particular:

a.

It recognises any new need for action at an early stage and derives aims, strategies and measures from this.

b.

It arranges its activities according to importance and urgency.

c.

It provides its services in a citizen-oriented, sustainable, effective and economical manner.

(Art. 8, 35, 36 GAOA)

¹ Managers at all levels shall act in accordance with the following principles:

a.

They lead by agreeing on objectives and impacts.

b.

They shall periodically assess the performance of their administrative units and their employees.

c.

They shall adapt processes and organisation to new needs in a timely manner.

d.

They shall use their room for manoeuvre and decision-making powers and also grant these to their employees.

e.

They shall promote a culture of willingness to learn and change.

f.

They shall ensure a result-oriented and interdisciplinary way of working.

² In all other respects, the personnel legislation and the Federal Council's personnel policy guidelines apply in particular.

(Art. 47 para. 1 GAOA)

¹ The significance of an item of business shall be decisive for the allocation of responsibility for taking a decision in accordance with Article 47 paragraph 1 GAOA.

² As a rule, responsibility shall be allocated to the unit where the required political and technical competence is concentrated. Assignment to units below office level shall only be made in justified exceptional cases.

³ In individual cases, an item of business shall be submitted to the next higher unit for a decision or for the issuing of a directive if its particular importance or complexity so requires.

¹ Administrative units are obliged to cooperate. They support and inform each other.

² They shall coordinate their activities and align them with the overall policy of the Federal Council.

³ They shall provide other administrative units with the information required for the fulfilment of their statutory duties.

¹ Administrative units shall ensure the participation of all units with an interest in the preparation of their decisions.⁶⁴

² For this purpose, they shall invite the units with an interest to submit a written opinion, unless another enactment provides for a different form of participation.⁶⁵

^2bis The provisions on Federal Council business (Art. 4⁾ apply mutatis mutandis to participation in the preparation of legislative texts.⁶⁶

³ If consent is required, differences shall be settled by the units involved themselves. Exceptionally, they may demand a settlement of differences at the next higher level.

¹ If a federal project affects essential cantonal or communal interests, the department concerned or the Federal Chancellery shall involve the cantonal bodies concerned and, if appropriate, the national umbrella organisations for communes, towns and mountain regions in an appropriate manner.

² Essential interests in accordance with paragraph 1 are affected in particular if:

a.

the project is to be implemented in whole or in part by cantonal or communal bodies and implementation requires considerable human or financial resources on their part;

b.

cantonal or communal bodies must be reorganised; or

c.

cantonal or communal bodies must make significant changes to the law.

(Art. 53 GAOA)

¹ The Conference of Secretaries General is the supreme coordinating body. It contributes to ensuring forward-looking, effective and coherent administrative action. It shall involve other persons or bodies.

² It participates in the planning, preparation and execution of Federal Council business and in the settlement of differences.

³ The Federal Council shall issue regulations on how the Conference is organised and on its working methods.⁶⁸

(Art. 6 para. 1, 25 para. 2 let. a, 32 let. a, 36 para. 1, 51, 52 GAOA)

¹ The Federal Council shall decide on the priorities, aims and means required for planning.

² The Federal Council's plans comprise:

a.

general plans that encompass all federal policy fields; these include government policy guidelines pursuant to Article 18 and the annual objectives of the Federal Council pursuant to Article 19 as sectoral plans and financial plans pursuant to the Financial Budget Act of 6 October 1989⁶⁹ and the Financial Budget Ordinance of 11 June 1990⁷⁰;

b.

specific plans for individual federal policy fields or parts thereof;

c.

further plans as required.

³ The sectoral and financial plans shall be coordinated as far as possible in terms of timing and content. The individual areas of responsibility are grouped into policy fields.

⁴ The Federal Chancellery shall prepare the sectoral plans in accordance with paragraph 2 letter a. The Federal Finance Administration (FFA)⁷¹ shall prepare the budget and financial plan. In doing so, they work with the departments.

⁵ The plans of the Federal Council and the departments are binding for their subordinate administrative units.

(Art. 45^bis ParlPA⁷²)

¹ Government policy guidelines provide a comprehensive policy orientation framework for government activity in a legislature period.

² They assess the results of the previous legislature period.

³ They define the aims, impacts and priority measures and designate the areas in which state services must be reviewed or can be reduced.

(Art. 51 GAOA)

¹ The annual objectives of the Federal Council shall set out the main features of the government's activities for the coming year, specify aims and measures and designate the business to be approved for submission to the Federal Assembly.

² The annual objectives form a basis for the Federal Council's business planning in accordance with Article 2, for controlling in accordance with Article 21, for supervision in accordance with Section 5 and for annual business reporting in accordance with Article 45 of the Parliamentary Procedure Act of 23 March 1962⁷³ (ParlPA).

(Art. 51 GAOA)

¹ The departments and the Federal Chancellery shall coordinate their annual objectives with the Federal Council's plans and submit them to the Federal Council for approval.

² They shall report on their activities as part of the Federal Council's annual business report in accordance with Article 45 ParlPA⁷⁴.

¹ Controlling is a management instrument for the process-related monitoring of the achievement of objectives at all levels.

² The Federal Council shall be supported in its controlling by the Federal Chancellery and the Federal Department of Finance. They shall work with the departments.

³ The departments are responsible for controlling in their area. They shall coordinate their controlling with the Federal Council's controlling.

¹ The administrative units shall maintain records of their own business activities using a records management system.

² For this purpose, they shall use electronic records and process management systems in accordance with the GEVER Ordinance of 3 April 2019⁷⁶, unless legislation provides for a different type of records and process management.

(Art. 38a GAOA)

¹ The departments or the agencies designated by them shall conclude service level agreements with their administrative units. These shall cover as a minimum:

a.

the annual objectives of the Federal Council and the departments in accordance with Articles 19 and 20;

b.

other important projects with milestones and deadlines;

c.

the performance and impact targets of the service groups, which are usually provided with parameters and target values.

² No service level agreement needs to be concluded with:

a.

the Federal Chancellery;

b.

the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner;

c.

the Federal Gaming Board;

d.

the Swiss Federal Audit Office;

e.

the Price Supervisor;

f.

the Competition Commission;

g.

the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board;

h.

the Federal Postal Services Commission;

i.⁷⁸

the Rail Transport Commission;

j.

the Federal Electricity Commission;

k.

der Federal Communications Commission;

l.

the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television.

(Art. 38a para. 5 GAOA)

¹ The departments or the agencies designated by them shall determine when and in what form the administrative units shall report on the achievement of objectives and, if necessary, on corrective measures.

² The FFA shall issue directives on the review of the structure and objectives of the service groups in accordance with Article 38a paragraph 5 GAOA.

The requirement for two signatures does not apply to:

a.

contracts, rulings and other formal federal commitments relating to personnel;

b.

international treaties;

c.

contracts, rulings and other formal commitments of the Federal Tax Administration that:

1.

are based on the Value Added Tax Act of 12 June 2009⁸⁰, the Withholding Tax Act of 13 October 1965⁸¹ or the Federal Act of 27 June 1973 on Stamp Duty⁸², and

2.

are not signed individually by a representative of the authority due to their large number (mass processing).

¹ The Federal Chancellery, in cooperation with the departments, shall be responsible for informing the Federal Assembly, the cantons and the public about the Federal Council's decisions, intentions and measures. It shall attend to the required planning and draw up principles for the Federal Council's communication policy.

² The departments and the Federal Chancellery shall be responsible for internal and external information and communication on their business. They shall place these in the overall context of the Federal Council's communication policy. They shall regulate the information tasks of the units subordinate to them.

³ The Federal Chancellery, in cooperation with the Conference of Information Services, shall be responsible for the coordination of information and communication and may issue directives for this purpose.

⁴ If necessary, the Federal Council may centralise information and communication with the President of the Confederation, the Federal Chancellery, a department or another designated office. The designated body shall be given appropriate powers of to issue directives.

¹ Administrative units may operate their own presences (profiles) on social media in order to provide information insofar as:

a.

the content of these profiles is accessible to all persons over the age of majority who are resident in Switzerland;

b.

they can make their profiles and content inaccessible at any time.

² Information provided on social media must also be available via channels that the administrative units themselves control and that are freely accessible to everyone.

³ Social media are electronic platforms that are used to communicate with the public and which enable users to provide their own content for other users.

¹ Administrative units may operate profiles with interactive functions on social media, provided that on these profiles:

a.

all persons over the age of majority resident in Switzerland can make contributions;

b.

the administrative units can respond to users' contributions with their own contributions; and

c.

the administrative units can hide, delete or otherwise suppress users' contributions.

² The administrative units shall ensure that they can be contacted via their profiles.

¹ Administrative units may suppress contributions in their profiles provided:

a.

there are specific indications that these contributions:

1.

incite the commission of misdemeanours or felonies,

2.

incite hatred or violence,

3.

contain content or representations of violence that are offensive to certain persons, defamatory, threatening, discriminatory or pornographic,

4.

encourage behaviour that seriously endangers persons' health or safety,

5.

contain commercial advertising, or

6.

have been generated by a machine; or

b.

that these contributions are posted repeatedly and:

1.

are clearly irrelevant, or

2.

are clearly false in their content and there are specific indications that they serve the purpose of disinformation.

² If an exceptionally large number of contributions are received, the suppression of contributions may be temporarily automated.

³ In the event of repeated or particularly serious infringements, an administrative unit may block the user for a maximum of two years.

⁴ The block shall be lifted on expiry of the blocking period if the user so requests.

(Art. 8 paras. 3 and 4, 36 para. 3 GAOA)

¹ Through supervision, the Federal Council, the departments and the Federal Chancellery shall ensure the fulfilment of constitutional and statutory duties.

² Supervision of the Central Federal Administration is comprehensive. It shall be governed by the principles set out in Articles 11 and 12.

³ The subject matter, scope and principles of supervision of the decentralised Federal Administration and of the entities referred to in Article 2 paragraph 4 GAOA shall be governed by specific legislation and shall be based on the respective degree of autonomy.

(Art. 8 paras. 4 and 5 GAOA)

¹ The Federal Council shall act as the owner and carry out the associated supervision and control in relation to the autonomous units in accordance with Article 8 paragraph 5 GAOA as a whole.

² The department with the closest relevance to the field in question shall exercise supervision on behalf of the Federal Council, exercise the owner's rights and serve as the contact for the management bodies of the autonomous units. In the case of autonomous units of major importance for the federal budget, it shall exercise the ownership rights jointly with the FFA. The departments to which the autonomous units are allocated and the units for which joint exercise of ownership rights with the FFA applies are listed in Annex 3.

³ If other departments and administrative units have a connection with the field for which an autonomous unit is responsible, they shall be consulted in relation to fulfilling the tasks in accordance with paragraph 2.

⁴ The General Secretariat of the Department shall be responsible for fulfilling the tasks in accordance with paragraph 2. The Department may delegate responsibility in writing to a state secretariat or a federal office provided there are no conflicts of interest, in particular with regard to regulation, technical supervision, appointment and subsidisation.

⁵ The FFA shall draw up the principles for the supervision and management of the federal government's autonomous units (public corporate governance) and shall ensure the coordination of reporting. In doing so, it shall work with the departments and administrative units concerned.

(Art. 8 paras. 3 and 4 GAOA)

¹ Control, as an instrument of supervision, serves:

a.

the in-depth clarification of special issues arising from current events or identified grievances;

b.

the regular review of particular areas of expertise.

² As a rule, controls are carried out by special bodies that are independent of the controlled administrative unit.

(Art. 8 paras. 3 and 4, 25 para. 2 lett. c and d, 32 lett. e GAOA)

The Federal Council and the President of the Confederation are supported by the Federal Chancellery in the exercise of their statutory control duties. For further interdepartmental clarifications, project organisations pursuant to Article 56 GAOA or an external consultant pursuant to Article 57 GAOA may be appointed.

(Art. 5 GAOA)

¹ The administrative units shall periodically and systematically review their tasks, services, processes and organisation to determine whether they are necessary and comply with the principles of Articles 11 and 12; they shall arrange for the required adjustments and reductions to be carried out measures.

² The Conference of Secretaries General shall play a coordinating role.

³ The FFA, in consultation with the Conference of Secretaries General, shall coordinate the review under paragraph 1 with the review under Article 5 of the Subsidies Act of 5 October 1990⁹¹.⁹²

¹ An administrative inquiry is a special control procedure in accordance with Articles 25 and 26 which clarifies whether there are matters in relation to which official intervention is required in the public interest.

² An administrative inquiry is not directed against specific persons. A disciplinary investigation pursuant to Article 98 of the Federal Personnel Ordinance of 3 July 2001⁹⁴ and criminal proceedings remain reserved.

¹ An administrative inquiry may not obstruct criminal investigations or investigations by parliamentary supervisory bodies.

² If a procedural conflict is foreseeable, the ordering authority shall suspend or terminate the administrative inquiry.

¹ The heads of the departments and the Federal Chancellor shall order administrative investigations in the administrative units under their authority. They may delegate this responsibility to the administrative units subordinate to them.

² If an administrative investigation affects more than one department, including the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Council shall order the investigation.

¹ An administrative investigation shall be entrusted to persons who:

a.

meet the necessary personal, professional and technical requirements for such a task;

b.

are not active in the area of responsibility to be investigated; and

c.

are not simultaneously and in the same matter entrusted with disciplinary proceedings or other personnel law proceedings.

² The investigation may be delegated to persons outside the Federal Administration. Such persons shall act as agents of the ordering body.

³ The investigative bodies may issue directives within the scope of their mandate, but may not issue rulings.

⁴ The provisions on recusal in Article 10 of the Federal Act of 20 December 1968⁹⁵ on Administrative Procedure (APA) apply mutatis mutandis.

¹ The ordering body shall issue a written investigation mandate. It sets out in particular:

a.

the subject of the investigation;

b.

the details of the appointment of the investigative body;

c.

the powers of the investigative body;

d.

the duty to maintain official secrecy;

e.

the remuneration to be paid to the investigative body;

f.

the necessary aids provided;

g.

the involvement of auxiliary bodies;

h.

the form in which reports are submitted;

i.

the deadlines.

² Any existing files shall be attached to the investigation mandate.

¹ The ordering authority shall notify the administrative bodies concerned of the opening of the administrative investigation, together with the reason for and purpose of the investigation and the investigating body.

² It shall issue the necessary directives on the access and inspection rights of the investigative bodies and on the duty of the employees concerned to provide information.

¹ In order to establish the facts of the case, the investigative body shall obtain evidence by the means set out in Article 12 APA⁹⁶. However, there is no formal examination of witnesses in an administrative investigation.

² The federal authorities and employees involved in the administrative investigation are obliged to cooperate in establishing the facts of the case.

³ If it becomes apparent in the course of an administrative investigation that information covered by the duty of confidentiality is required from other departments or from the Federal Chancellery, the investigative body must first obtain the consent of the head of the department or of the Federal Chancellor. In other cases, Article 14 applies.

⁴ The authorities and persons involved in the administrative investigation shall have the opportunity to inspect all files that concern them and to comment on them (Art. 26-28 APA).

⁵ They have the right to be heard (Art. 29-33 APA).

¹ The persons involved in the administrative investigation are entitled to be represented and have legal assistance.

² The investigating body shall inform the persons who are to be interviewed that they may refuse to answer the questions if by doing so they may incriminate themselves in disciplinary or criminal proceedings.

³ It shall inform persons outside the Federal Administration who are to be interviewed that their provision of information is voluntary.

Each department that is requested by the investigative body to disclose personal data must ensure and is itself responsible for ensuring that the provisions of the Data Protection Act of 25 September 2020⁹⁸ on are complied with.

¹ The investigative body shall deliver all investigation files and a report to the ordering body.

² In the report, it shall describe the process and set out the results of the investigation and proposals for further action.

³ The ordering authority shall inform the authorities and persons involved in an administrative investigation of the result.

⁴ The ordering authority shall decide on the consequences of an administrative investigation.

⁵ The results of an administrative investigation may be used as a basis for initiating other proceedings, in particular proceedings under personnel law.

(Art. 31 para. 3, 43 and 47 GAOA)

The Federal Council shall issue an organisational ordinance for each department and for the Federal Chancellery. In particular, it shall regulate:

a.

the objectives, principles and responsibilities of the departments and the Federal Chancellery;

b.

the objectives, tasks and responsibilities of the groups and offices;

c.¹⁰¹

the departmental allocation of the decentralised administrative units and, unless otherwise regulated, their objectives, tasks and responsibilities.

(Art. 37 and 43 par. 4 GAOA)

¹ The departments and the Federal Chancellery shall issue rules of procedure for themselves. In particular, the following can be regulated therein:

a.

the basic principles of the management processes in the department or in the Federal Chancellery;

b.

the basic organisational principles of the department and the Federal Chancellery, unless they are governed by other provisions;

c.

the delegation of signatory powers;

d.¹⁰²

the use of external consultants by groups and offices.

² For interdepartmental tasks, the competent departments or the Federal Chancellery may issue joint rules of procedure.

³ The rules of procedure shall be publicly accessible but shall not be published in the Official Compilation of Federal Legislation.

¹ The Federal Council, the General Secretaries' Conference, the departments and the Federal Chancellery shall ensure the proper functioning of the administration by issuing directives and working aids.

² The directives and working aids shall regulate in particular:

a.

the preparation of Federal Council business;

b.¹⁰³

...

c.

the structure of Federal Council dispatches and reports to the Federal Assembly;

d.

the drafting and layout of federal legislation;

e.

the principles for a level-appropriate allocation of responsibilities;

f.

the preliminary legislative procedure, insofar as it is not regulated in the Ordinance of 17 June 1991¹⁰⁴ on the Consultation Procedure;

g.

the use of resources, in particular in relation to personnel, finance, IT and logistics;

h.

the composition and election, mandates, procedures and business dealings of administrative, planning and coordination bodies;

i.

cultivating the Federal Administration's international relations;

j.

the commercial secondary activities of administrative units;

k.

the duty to keep records;

l.

authorisations of the President of the Confederation in application of Article 26 paragraph 4 GAOA;

m.

the coordination of information and communication.

¹ The departments and the Federal Chancellery shall decide within their area of responsibility on authorisations in accordance with Article 271 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code¹⁰⁶ to carry out activities on behalf of a foreign state.

^1bis Authorisations in accordance with Article 22 of the Federal Decree of 21 December 1995¹⁰⁷ on Cooperation with International Courts for the Prosecution of Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law shall be granted by the Federal Office of Justice.¹⁰⁸

² Cases of political or other fundamental importance shall be submitted to the Federal Council.

³ The decisions shall be sent to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland and to the departments that are also interested.¹⁰⁹

The Federal Council Decree of 7 July 1971¹¹² on the Authorisation of the Departments and the Federal Chancellery to Decide Independently on Authorisations in accordance with Article 271 paragraph 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code is repealed.

¹ Subject to paragraph 2, this Ordinance shall come into force on 1 January 1999.

² Articles 26 and 27 come into force at the same time as the Ordinance on the Organisation of the Federal Chancellery of 5 May 1999¹¹³ .