Switzerland: Naturalization process presents conflict between democracy and the rule of law

Abstract

On July 9, 2003, the Swiss Supreme Court (Bundesgericht) decided two cases on naturalization that may have far-reaching consequences for the general understanding of the rule of law and democracy.1 In the first case, applicants for citizenship challenged the rejection of their applications by a municipal ballot held in the community of Emmen, near Lucerne.2 The involvement of voters or of a municipal parliament in the naturalization process is typical in Switzerland. There are facilitated procedures for naturalization, such as are used when the applicant has married a Swiss citizen,3 and in many communities the act of naturalization is—once the legal conditions are met—little more than a simple administrative formality. However, there remain numerous communities where the final step in the process consists of a vote in a municipal assembly, a municipal parliament, or by the electorate.4 In Emmen, voters had to decide on twenty-three citizenship applications from fifty-six applicants (the discrepancy in numbers stems from the fact that applications from multiple family members are treated as a single application). On March 12, 2000, they voted to approve four applications by eight applicants from Italy, while denying sixteen applications by thirty-eight applicants from the former Yugoslavia. Applications of one family from Turkey, one family from Poland and the Netherlands, and one from a Hungarian citizen were rejected as well.5 Five applicants from the former Yugoslavia appealed 716 DEVELOPMENTS