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Pichonnaz, Pascal --- "Switzerland" [2006] ELECD 215; in Smits, M. Jan (ed), "Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law

Editor(s): Smits, M. Jan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845420130

Section: Chapter 64

Section Title: Switzerland

Author(s): Pichonnaz, Pascal

Number of pages: 7

Extract:

64 Switzerland
Pascal Pichonnaz


1 Introduction
The official name of Switzerland is the Swiss Confederation (Die
Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, La Confédération suisse, La Confede-
razione svizzera). The country's legal system belongs to the Germanic
family. The influence of the German Pandectists was important. First the
drafting of some Cantonal Codes (previous to the Swiss Civil Code) was
influenced by them, such as the Civil Code of the Canton of Zurich of
1853/1855, drafted by Johann Kaspar Bluntschli, a student of Savigny.
While drafting the Swiss Civil Code, Eugen Huber was very much influ-
enced by the work of Bluntschli and the Pandectists. However, since some
cantons had a civil code influenced by the French Civil Code, the result of
Huber's work, the Swiss Civil Code, is a sort of compromise between the
French and the Germanic influences, with a higher impact of the Pandectist
approach.
Switzerland is a monist system and also a pluralist system. On the one
hand, there is the Federal legal system dealing with all subject matters
attributed by the constitution to the federal level (exhaustive attribution of
competences). On the other hand, there are 26 cantonal legal systems for
all subject matters kept within the competence of the cantons.
In Switzerland, there are four national languages: German, French,
Italian and Rhaeto-Rumantsch (art. 4 Fed. Const.), but only the first three
are official languages. Nevertheless, Rumantsch is used in official commu-
nications with Rumantsch speakers, who in turn have the right to ...