Political Risk:
Very Low
Score:
83/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
100/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The Swiss Parliament has wide-ranging formal powers with regards to defence policy. The parliamentarians have different instruments (motions, postulates, interpellations, and questions) at their…
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The Federal Assembly is not very involved in planning; however, it has full budgetary competence and plays an active role in shaping decisions, in…
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The Swiss system of consociationalism (“Konkordanzdemokratie”) makes it less likely for the government to coerce Parliament, for now [1]. Due to the particularities of…
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Q2
85/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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Both chambers of the Federal Assembly have security committees, the Security Policy Committees (SPCs). There are 13 members on the Council of States and…
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The Swiss Milizsystem (“milita system” i.e. parliamentarians are not full-time politicians but have a day-jobs) is probably the reason that most members of the…
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Although the committee has in principle the authority to review security policies and does so on a case by case basis [1], there is…
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The SPC meets once a month except for one month during a summer break [1]. Article 45.1 of the Parliament Act invests the commission…
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The Parliament Act does not invest the Security Policy Committee (SPC) with the power to conduct long-term investigations on current activities and operations. The…
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There is not enough evidence to score this indicator. The Security Policy Committee (SPC) has the power to submit reports, make proposals and suggest…
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Q3
94/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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All defence planning is based in the Federal Councils’ strategy (“Rüstungsstrategie”) [1]. The first step in defence planning is the so-called MASTERPLAN developed by…
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When the Parliament discusses the annual “Armeebotschaft” current threats are regularly discussed. For example, during the discussions around the annual military proposals from 2018…
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In Switzerland, there is a formal consultation mechanism that plays an important role in the creation of legislation and ordinances in general. This is…
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All non-classified documents that are the basis of parliamentarian deliberations are easily accessible on the Curia Vista portion of the website of the Swiss…
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Q4
83/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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The formal consultation mechanism prescribed in Swiss law is to ensure broad support for proposals and prevent them from being blocked at the end…
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The Swiss Constitution grants important rights and freedoms to members of the civil society. Article 23 guarantees the freedom of association and Article 17…
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No meaningful outreach to civil society from the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) in connection with questions of transparency and…
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Q5
75/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Switzerland is a major arms exporter and ranked 14th most important exporter for between 2015-2018 [1]. Switzerland signed on to the UN Convention Against…
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Switzerland still has some implementation issues when it comes to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Despite its efforts to implement the convention the Phase 4…
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Q6
100/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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There is regular public debate on issues of defence. Probably not at least also due to the fact that Switzerland’s military is by and…
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The campaign preceding a referendum involves the government, its position is defended typically by the Federal Council in charge (i.e. defence minister) in representatives…
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Q7
88/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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Switzerland is engaged on the international level in anti-corruption efforts in international organisations like OECD, the Council of Europe or the United Nations and…
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Until very recently there appears not to have been a comprehensive action plan for the defence sector. The Interdepartmental Working Group to Combat Corruption…
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Q8
75/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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The Interdepartmental Working Group to Combat Corruption in its latest report and based on an evaluation by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) favours…
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The Interdepartmental Working Group to Combat Corruption in its latest report and based on an evaluation by the SFAO favours the creation of a…
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A new directive from 30 January 2020 on fighting corruption the DDPS creates a specialist corruption unit. One of the tasks of that unit…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. There is no specific polling available on the question of how the defence establishment’s…
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Q10
NEI/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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In its first report covering the years 2011 to 2013, the Interdepartementale Arbeitsgruppe Korruptionsbekämpfung (IDAG Korruptionsbekämpfung) only recommended identifying specific groups at risk for…
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There is not enough information to score this indicator. As of 30 January 2020, there is a directive for the DDPS on fighting corruption…
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There is not enough information to score this indicator. The November 2020 anti-corruption strategy, which applies to the Federal Administration as a whole, mentions…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
83/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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The acquisition process is subdivided into several main phases preceding procurement: planning, evaluation and parliamentary deliberation. These first phases involve the Armed Forces Staff,…
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The armament programme lays out the reasoning for the requested by providing background, a description of the proposed solution and why this solution was…
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The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) audits and publishes reports on a specific aspect of the processes within the DDPS [1]. Not all the…
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Q12
100/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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Every year the government submits a “Message” (“Armeebotschaft”) to Parliament containing a defence spending plan (“Rüstungsprogramm”) and a property plan (“Immobilienprogramm”) which together form…
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The Armeebotschaft for the following year is usually submitted in February and then first discussed during the summer session of the Federal Assembly, leaving…
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Q13
100/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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Both chambers of the Federal Assembly have security committee, the Security Policy Committee (SPC). There are 13 members on the Council of States and…
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The SPC makes recommendations to the Federal Assembly concerning government proposals and the budget. An item will first be discussed in the committee, which…
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Q14
83/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The budget documents submitted to parliament containing the defence spending plan are updated after every step in the parliamentarian deliberation including the final version…
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The budget documents submitted to Parliament containing the defence spending plan are updated after every step of parliamentarian deliberation, including the final version, and…
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In general, the budget process is relatively transparent and most information can be found on the website of the Federal Assembly, which for every…
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Q15
83/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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Income has to be channelled back into the general federal budget according to the law [1]. A motion in parliament in 2012 suggested to…
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The law prescribes an economic and efficient use of finances (Article 12.4 FHG) [1]. There is the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) that audits…
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Although the information is available on the income of the DDPS, a search for media reports scrutinizing that income has not yielded any results.…
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Q16
100/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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The Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) has an internal audit unit (Internal Audit DDPS). The unit reports to the general…
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The reports of the internal audit unit are sent to the head of the DDPS. Some of them are also published on the website…
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Internal audit reports are proactively released to the DDPS and SFAO, which receives annual reports and information on focus areas, conclusions and implementation of…
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The Internal Audit of the DDPS does also report on the implementation of recommendations from previous reports. These evaluations, are also published on the…
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Q17
88/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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There is the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) that audits and publishes reports on a specific aspect of the processes within the Federal Department…
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Article 1.1 of the Federal Audit Act states that the SFAO is “bound only by the Federal Constitution and the law” and Article 1.2…
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The SFAO has to draft a report on each audit it has completed and submit it to the finance delegation (Article 14.1). The office…
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The audited institutions and departments are required by law to report to the Finance Delegation of the Federal Assembly on the implementation of the…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
83/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Switzerland does not have any natural resources to speak of. The only exceptions are not very lucrative resources like wood and water. Both are…
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Switzerland does not have any natural resources to speak of and those it does possess are protected by the Swiss Constitution. On top of…
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There are no cases of defence institutions being involved in businesses relating to natural resource exploitation. Switzerland does not have any natural resources to…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no evidence of Swiss defence institutions have financial or controlling interests in businesses associated with…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no evidence of Swiss defence institutions have financial or controlling interests in businesses associated with…
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Organised Crime
Q19
75/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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There are only two potential sectors where the Swiss military’s activity might intersect directly with organized crime. One is the real estate property owned…
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Due to the mainly non-professional nature of the Swiss military, there seems to be minimal risk of involvement organized crime in the Swiss defence…
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Q20
92/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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In the Swiss Federal system, policing is the main responsibility of the cantons. There is only a small Federal Police Force that focuses on…
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Fedpol is part of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP). It is therefore independent of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection…
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In its strategy for 2015 to 2019, as well as for the strategy 2020-2023, Fedpol listed organized crime as its first priority out of…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
88/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The Federal Council decides on the basic mission of the Nachrichtendienst des Bundes (NDB). The Federal Council also elects the chair of the independent…
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CDel (Article 169, Swiss Constitution) [1, 2, 3], as well as AB-ND (Article 78.4 NDG) [4], have access to all relevant documents. AB-ND is…
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Q22
83/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The head of the intelligence service is appointed by the Federal Council. The identity and the background of the director are known and announced…
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A problematic appointment at the DDPS triggered the parliamentary oversight, and in 2013 a report of the Control Committee of the National Council reviewed…
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The hiring procedures are supposed to include a search committee that proceeds transparently; the job needs to be publicly advertised. The 2013 report by…
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Export Controls
Q23
75/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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Switzerland actively participated in the negotiations of the Arms Trade Treaty [1] and is among the first signatories. It signed the treaty on 3…
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Switzerland has a provision in its legislation to implement Article 7.1.b.iv, 11.5 and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty. In its initial report to…
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The Federal Assembly is only involved in arms exports after the fact. It has a role in reviewing exports but no prospective power. Article…
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Lobbying in Defence
Switzerland does not have a federal lobbying regulation or similar regulation covering lobbying footprints (such as a mandatory register, disclosure obligations or rules on…
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Switzerland does not have legislation regulating the lobbying of defence institutions; as such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. There is no evidence for…
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Switzerland does not have legislation regulating lobbying of defence institutions; as such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. However, Article 11 of ParlA requires…
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In the absence of a legal framework addressing lobbying, there is no oversight entity with an oversight mandate [1] [2]. As such, this indicator…
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