Facts
M. [A.] acquired the citizenship of the municipality of Riehen BS through naturalization after the dissolution of her first marriage. In her second marriage to R. B., a citizen of Rapperswil BE, the marital register only recorded the husband's place of origin, without listing the wife's acquired citizenship of the municipality of Riehen. M. [A.] subsequently filed a complaint with the Department of Justice of the Canton of Basel-Stadt to assert her right to retain the citizenship of the municipality of Riehen after her remarriage. The Department of Justice dismissed the complaint, prompting M. [A.] to file an administrative court appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court ruled that Art. 161 of the Swiss Civil Code and Art. 8b of the Final Title of the Swiss Civil Code refer not only to the citizenship that the wife possessed before her first marriage, but also to those she acquired as a widow or divorcee through naturalization. Accordingly, a woman can even retain a cantonal and municipal citizenship acquired during a previous marriage through…