- Cantons should once again be able to publish civil status data (births, deaths, marriages, partnerships) with the consent of the parties concerned.
- The repeal of Article 57 ZStV 2017 removed the legal basis; the motion demands its restoration for legal clarification.
- The Federal Council points out that cantons can already publish life events under cantonal law, for example from the residents’ register.
Submitted text
The Federal Council is instructed to create a legal basis so that cantons once again have the option, Publish civil status cases, such as births, deaths, marriages, and partnership registrations.
Justification
On October 26, 2016, the Federal Council adopted a revision of the Federal Ordinance on Civil Status (ZStV) and deleted Article 57 as part of the revision. Among other things, this revision abolishes the possibility for the cantons to publish civil status cases. Civil status cases are births, deaths, marriages and registrations of partnerships. The Federal Council justifies this by stating that the Publication of this data would raise data protection issues and would no longer correspond to an overriding interest.. The revision came into force on July 1, 2017. With the repeal of the corresponding provision in the Federal Civil Status Ordinance, the legal basis for the publication of civil status cases ceases to exist.
In communities (especially in small communities), however, it is important for residents to be informed about life in the village or community. It is not without reason that birth, marriage and death announcements are among the best-read sections of newspapers and newsletters. The argument that publication does not correspond to an overriding interest must therefore be contradicted.
Especially nowadays, when the world is becoming more and more anonymous, it should be possible to rejoice over newcomers in the circle of acquaintances or over a given word of yes or, for example, to take part when someone has ended his earthly path.
In many cantons, civil status cases are only published upon request and with the consent of all parties concerned. This solution has proven itself and has not led to any problems. The possibility for the cantons to publish civil status cases with the consent of all those concerned should therefore continue to exist. The repeal of Article 57 of the Civil Status Ordinance is to be corrected with this motion.
Statement of the Federal Council of 22.11.2017
Irrespective of the repeal of Article 57 CstV, the cantons are free to publish life events of their citizens on the basis of cantonal law, for example from the register of residents. This is explicitly stated in the explanatory report on the repeal of Article 57 of the CStV. Thus, the cantons already have the possibility to enact publication rules that meet their needs, as required by the motion. Various cantons and municipalities make use of this, for example in burial regulations for the publication of deaths.