Facts
The New Apostolic Church in Switzerland filed a constitutional appeal against the decision of the Administrative Court of the Canton of Aargau, which had dismissed the church's appeal against the decision of the Cantonal Council of Aargau.
The Cantonal Council had instructed the Funeral Office of the City of Aarau to accept, store, and immediately notify the addressee of any private instructions regarding the design of their funeral service. However, the Funeral Office was not required to enforce these instructions against the potentially divergent will of the relatives.
The New Apostolic Church demanded that the Civil Status and Funeral Office of the City of Aarau be obliged to accept and primarily comply with the instructions of members of the New Apostolic Church regarding their New Apostolic funeral service, as well as to respect the church's right to conduct the funeral and to inform it in a timely manner of the death, burial location, and time.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal of the New Apostolic Church. It stated that while the federal authorities are responsible for ensuring that every deceased person can be buried decently, they are not obliged to order or prohibit a specific type of funeral service.
The articles of the Federal Constitution on freedom of belief and worship (Art. 49 and 50 FC) do not impose an obligation on the state authorities to ensure that the design of…