Facts
In 1833, the Federal Diet of the Swiss Confederation approved the division of the Canton of Basel into two half-cantons (Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft) under the condition of a voluntary reunification. Over 100 years later, identical initiatives for reunification were submitted in both half-cantons. The Federal Supreme Court declared these initiatives admissible in 1935, as they were intended to merely create the basis for a later decision on reunification.
Subsequently, identical constitutional provisions (§ 57bis KVBL and § 58 KVBS) were enacted in both cantons, which provided for a detailed procedure to bring about the reunification. These provisions were adopted in popular votes in 1938, but initially did not receive the guarantee of the Confederation. It was not until 1960 that the Federal Assembly granted the guarantee.
After the rejection of the reunification constitution in a popular vote in 1969, eligible voters submitted an initiative demanding the repeal of §§ 57 and 57bis KVBL and their replacement with a provision on regional cooperation. The Government Council of Basel-Landschaft then ordered the popular vote on this initiative.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court first notes that the Government Council of Basel-Landschaft was authorized to examine the substantive legality of the initiative and to refuse to submit it to the people if it should prove to be legally inadmissible in terms of content.
On the merits, the Federal Supreme Court examines whether the simultaneous inclusion of §§ 57bis KVBL and 58 KVBS in the constitutions of the two cantons constitutes the conclusion of a concordat between them, which would preclude the premature repeal of these provisions. However, it denies this, as neither the wording of the provisions nor the…