Switzerland is a federal republic governed by a constitution adopted in 1848, revised in 1874, and amended more than 140 times since. Since the result was a text that was almost incomprehensible, the federal Parliament passed an order on June 3, 1987 mandating the Federal Council to undertake a comprehensive revision of the Constitution. Constitutional review committees were struck In 1996, and the preliminary work reform was completed by the end of 1997. Parliament then studied the proposal and approved it in 1998. The proposal was then put to the Swiss people in a referendum held on April 18, 1999 and was endorsed by 59.2% of voters (with a participation rate of 35.3%). Eight cantons and two demicantons rejected the draft Constitution, while 12 cantons and two demicantons said "yes." Cantons with a high proportion of French, Italian and Rumansh speakers were favourable to the new Constitution, while the greatest opposition was found in the German-speaking cantons. The new Swiss Constitution officially came into force on January 1, 2000.
The Constitution was drafted in the four national languages: French, German, Italian and Rumansh.