Bern naturalisation civic foundations flashcards
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20 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Bund
- The Confederation or federal level in Switzerland, distinguished from a canton or a municipality when identifying the responsible institution.
- Kanton
- A constituent canton in the federal system, with powers and responsibilities defined within the constitutional framework rather than unlimited authority.
- Gemeinde
- A municipality operating within the applicable cantonal framework, whose actual institutions and services require local knowledge rather than a generic national assumption.
- Nationalrat
- The National Council, a chamber of the federal legislature representing the population, distinguished from the executive Federal Council.
- Ständerat
- The Council of States, a chamber of the federal legislature representing cantons through the constitutional allocation of seats.
- Bundesrat
- The Federal Council, Switzerland’s collective federal executive, distinguished from the two chambers that make up the Federal Assembly.
- Volksinitiative
- A popular initiative mechanism, which at federal level can propose constitutional change under the applicable procedural and majority requirements.
- Referendum
- A popular-vote mechanism whose mandatory or optional form and required majority depend on the actual legal proposal and level.
- Doppeltes Mehr
- The requirement for both a popular and a cantonal majority in the relevant federal votes, rather than two parliamentary majorities.
- Gewaltenteilung
- Separation of legislative, executive and judicial functions, designed to limit concentration of public power in one institution or person.
- Bundesbrief
- The Federal Charter associated with 1291, distinguished as a historical document from later legendary accounts and the modern 1848 constitutional system.
- Helvetische Republik
- The centralized republic introduced in the French-intervention context of 1798, distinct from both the earlier Confederation and the later federal state.
- Mediation
- The 1803 political reorganization associated with restoration of a federal arrangement after the centralized Helvetic Republic, including a changed cantonal map.
- Bundesstadt
- The federal city, used to describe Bern’s national institutional role without confusing the city with the canton or federal government itself.
- Röstigraben
- An expression for a perceived cultural divide between German- and French-speaking Switzerland, not an absolute boundary determining every individual’s views.
- AHV
- Old-age and survivors’ insurance within the state social-insurance system, distinguished from occupational pensions and means-related social assistance.
- IV
- Disability insurance, whose actual eligibility and benefits depend on the applicable assessment rather than a general promise to every resident.
- Sozialhilfe
- Means-related social assistance functioning as a safety net, distinguished from an automatic universal payment or a contributory pension benefit.
- Rechtsstaat
- A state governed by law, in which public authorities themselves are bound by the legal and constitutional framework.
- Grundrechte
- Fundamental rights forming a constitutional framework, whose conditions and protections require careful legal application in an individual case.