Art. 197

Accession of Switzerland to the United Nations1. Switzerland shall accede to the United Nations.2. The Federal Council shall be authorised to submit an application to the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) requesting Switzerland’s accession to the organisation, together with a declaration on the acceptance of the obligations contained in the UN Charter¹.

2.²Transitional provision to Art. 62 (School education)From the date on which the Federal Decree of 3 October 2003³on the New System of Financial Equalisation and the Allocation of Tasks between the Confederation and Cantons comes into force, the Cantons shall, until they have their own approved special-needs school strategies, but for a minimum of three years, assume responsibility for the current payments made by the Invalidity Insurance for special needs education (including the special needs pre-school education in accordance with Art. 19 of the Federal Act of 19 June 1959⁴on Invalidity Insurance).

3.⁵Transitional provision to Art. 83 (National highways)The Cantons shall construct the national highways listed in the Federal Decree of 21 June 1960⁶on the National Highway Network (in its version valid on the commencement of the Federal Decree of 3 Oct. 2003⁷on the New System of Financial Equalisation and the Allocation of Tasks between the Confederation and Cantons) in accordance with the regulations of and subject to the oversight of the Confederation. The Confederation and Cantons shall share the costs. The share of the costs borne by the individual Cantons shall be determined by the burden imposed on them by the national highways, their interest in these highways, and their financial capacity.

4.⁸Transitional provision to Art. 112b (Promoting the rehabilitation of people eligible for invalidity benefits)From the date on which the Federal Decree of 3 October 2003⁹on the New System of Financial Equalisation and the Allocation of Tasks between the Confederation and Cantons comes into force, the Cantons shall assume responsibility for the current payments made by the Invalidity Insurance to institutions, workshops and residential homes until they have an approved strategy on people with disabilities that also regulates the granting of cantonal contributions towards the construction and running of institutions that accept residents from outside the relevant canton, but for a minimum of three years.

5.¹⁰Transitional provision to Art. 112c (Aid for elderly people and people with disabilities)

The current payments under Article 101^bisof the Federal Act of 20 December 1946¹¹on the Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance for assistance and care in the home for elderly people and people with disabilities shall continue to be paid by the Cantons until cantonal regulations on the financing of assistance and care in the home come into force.

6.¹²

7.¹³Transitional Provision to Art. 120 (Non-human gene technology)Swiss agriculture shall remain free of gene technology for a period of five years following the adoption of this constitutional provision. In particular, the following may neither be imported nor placed on the market:

1. genetically modified plants that are capable of propagation, parts of plants and seeds that are intended for agricultural, horticultural or forestry use in the environment;
2. genetically modified animals that are intended for the production of foodstuffs and other agricultural products.

8.¹⁴Transitional provision to Art. 121 (Residence and Permanent Settlement of Foreign Nationals)The legislature must define and add to the offences covered by Article 121 paragraph 3 and issue the criminal provisions relating to illegal entry in accordance with Article 121 paragraph 6 within five years of the adoption of Article 121 paragraphs 3–6 by the People and the Cantons.

9.¹⁵Transitional provision to Art. 75b (Second homes)1. If the relevant legislation does not come into force within two years of the adoption of Article 75b , the Federal Council shall issue the required implementing provisions on construction, sale and recording in the land register by ordinance.2. Building permits for second homes granted between 1 January of the year following the adoption of Article 75b and the date on which the implementing provisions come into force shall be null and void.

10.¹⁶Transitional provision to Art. 95 para. 3Until the statutory provisions come into force, the Federal Council shall issue the required implementing provisions within one year of the adoption of Article 95 paragraph 3 by the People and the Cantons.

11.¹⁷Transitional provision to Art. 121a (Control of immigration)1. International agreements that contradict Article 121a must be renegotiated and amended within three years of its adoption by the People and the Cantons.2. If the implementing legislation for Article 121a has not come into force within three years of its adoption by the People and the Cantons, the Federal Council shall issue temporary implementing provisions in the form of an ordinance.

12.¹⁸Transitional provision to Art. 10a
(Ban on covering the face)The implementing legislation for Article 10a must be drawn up within two years of its adoption by the People and the Cantons.

13.¹⁹Transitional provision to Art. 117b (Nursing care)1. The Confederation shall, within the scope of its powers, enact implementing provisions on:

a. specifying the nursing services that may be provided by nurses and paid for by social insurance:

1. on the nurse’s own initiative,

2. as instructed by a doctor;

b. the appropriate remuneration for the nursing services;

c. employment conditions that meet the requirements of persons working in nursing care;

d. opportunities for the professional development of persons working in nursing care.2. The Federal Assembly shall approve the statutory implementing provisions within four years of the adoption of Article 117b by the People and Cantons. Before the statutory implementing provisions come into force, the Federal Council shall, within eighteen months of the adoption of Article 117b by the People and Cantons, take effective measures in order to address the shortage of qualified nursing staff.

14.²⁰Transitional provision to Art. 118 para. 2 let. b (Health protection)The Federal Assembly shall approve the statutory implementing provisions within three years of the adoption of Article 118 paragraph 2 letter b by the People and Cantons.

15.²¹Transitional provision to Art. 129a (Special taxation of large corporate groups)1. Until the statutory provisions come into force, the Federal Council may issue the required regulations on the minimum rate of tax for large corporate groups.2. In doing so, it shall observe the following principles:

a. The regulations apply to the business units of any multinational corporate group that achieves a consolidated annual turnover of 750 million euros.

b. If the total tax payable by the business units in Switzerland or in another tax jurisdiction fall below the minimum tax payable at a rate of 15 per cent of the relevant profits, the Confederation shall levy a supplementary tax to compensate for the difference between the effective tax rate and the minimum tax rate.

c. Relevant taxes are in particular the direct taxes indicated in the income statement of the business units.

d. The relevant profit of a business unit is the profit or loss calculated for the consolidated financial statements of the group of companies in accordance with a recognised accounting standard before eliminating transactions between the business units and after taking other adjustments into account; profits and losses from international shipping are not taken into account.

e. The effective tax rate in a tax jurisdiction is calculated by dividing the sum of the relevant taxes payable by all business units in this tax jurisdiction by the sum of the relevant profits of these business units.

f. The supplementary tax for a tax jurisdiction is calculated by multiplying the profit surplus by the supplementary tax rate.

g. The profit surplus in a tax jurisdiction is the sum of the relevant profits of all business units in this tax jurisdiction after the permitted deduction for tangible assets and labour costs.

h. The supplementary tax rate for a tax jurisdiction corresponds to the positive difference between 15 per cent and the effective tax rate.

i. In the event of under-taxation in Switzerland, the supplementary tax is levied on the domestic business units in proportion to the extent to which they have contributed to the under-taxation.

j. In the event of under-taxation in another tax jurisdiction, the supplementary tax is primarily levied on the principal domestic business unit and secondarily on all domestic business units.3. The Federal Council may issue supplementary regulations on implementing the minimum rate of tax, in particular on:

a. taking account of the specific company circumstances;

b. whether the supplementary tax may be deducted as an expense for the purpose of federal and cantonal income taxes;

c. the procedure and rights of appeal;

d. the criminal provisions in accordance with other criminal provisions of tax law;

e. the transitional arrangements.4. Where the Federal Council deems it necessary in order to implement the minimum rate of tax, it may derogate from the principles set out in paragraph 2. It may declare international model regulations and related sets of rules to be applicable. It may delegate these powers to the Federal Department of Finance.5. The regulations on the supplementary tax shall be enforced by the cantons under the supervision of the Federal Tax Administration. The Federal Council may provide for the reimbursement of the administrative costs incurred in enforcing these regulations.6. The cantons to which the business units belong for tax purposes are entitled to 75 per cent of the gross revenue from the supplementary tax. The cantons shall take appropriate account of the communes. The gross revenue from the supplementary tax from profit tax-exempt activities of federal, cantonal and communal business units, shall be paid to the collective body concerned.7. The cantonal share of the gross revenue from the supplementary tax shall be recognised as additional tax revenue in the context of the equalisation of financial resources and burdens.8. If the Federal Council makes use of its power in paragraph 1, it shall submit the statutory provisions on the minimum taxation of large multinational corporate groups to Parliament within six years of the ordinance coming into force.9. The Confederation shall use its share of the gross revenue from the supplementary tax, after deducting its additional expenditure for the equalisation of financial resources and burdens caused by the supplementary tax, to further promote Switzerland's attractiveness as a business location.

16.²²Transitional provision to Art. 112
(Old-Age, Survivors’ and Invalidity Insurance)1. Persons in receipt of a retirement pension are entitled to an annual additional payment amounting to one twelfth of their annual pension.2. Entitlement to the annual additional payment arises at the latest at the start of the second calendar year following the adoption of this provision by the People and the Cantons.3. The law shall ensure that the annual additional payment does not lead to a reduction in supplementary benefits nor to the loss of entitlement to such benefits.

Commencement Date: 1 January 2000²³