Democratic Participation in International Law-Making in Switzerland After the 'Age of Treaties'

Foreign relations law is not (yet) treated as a discrete field of law in Switzerland, but it exists as a matter of fact. One of its core functions is the allocation of powers for international law-making. Progressively bolstered in the 1990s as a reaction to internationalisation, the Swiss legal framework on democratic participation in international law-making is unique in terms of the actors involved, the phases during which participation is possible, and the intensity and effects it features. Yet the framework is not without its limitations as it is geared towards just one source of international law - treaties. The 'age of treaties', however, seems to have run its course and formal law-making is increasingly superseded by informal law-making. This Chapter discusses the efforts undertaken in Switzerland to associate Parliament more closely in the making of 'soft law' and demonstrates that building bridges between the international and domestic spheres is far more complex in the context of informal law than it is for treaties.