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By John Revill
ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss voters have clearly rejected a proposal to make the laws of the neutral country a priority over international law, a move that critics say has seriously damaged its global reputation and economy.
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In the national referendum Sunday, about 63% of voters voted against the measure "Swiss law, not foreign judges", according to the second round of projection of the broadcaster SRF.
The measure, backed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), called for the addition of a provision to the national constitution that would give it an explicit priority over international agreements.
In the event of a conflict between the two parties, Switzerland should have modified its international obligations to comply with its constitution or to abandon the international agreement.
Supporters argued that its participation in international agreements covering areas such as environmental protection, police cooperation, air transport and trade, reduced the historical autonomy of neutral Switzerland.
Their campaign said such arrangements jeopardized the long tradition of direct democracy in Switzerland, where citizens have the final say on political decisions by referendum.
The debate on the erosion of sovereignty has intensified in recent years, as Switzerland strives to clarify its relations with the European Union, currently governed by a tangle of bilateral pacts. .
The SVP, the largest party in the Swiss parliament, has stated that its proposals – also known as the self-determination initiative – would empower citizens to free themselves and free them from interference by international bodies such as than the EU.
The Swiss government, business groups and most other parties opposed this proposal, saying that this proposal would force Switzerland to cancel the treaties in force, weaken the protection of human rights and harming its economy.
They said a "yes" vote would mean that Switzerland should renegotiate the thousands of treaties it signed, which would undermine an open economy that relies heavily on global trade.
Jan Atteslander, Economiesuisse economic lobby, said he was satisfied with the result.
"The result shows that Swiss voters are satisfied with the institutions we have and that it is not necessary to change them.If this had been adopted, it would have harmed the economy and would have hurt to the reputation of Switzerland in the world.
"We must stick to our words on the international scene and be a reliable and quality partner, in both good and bad times."
Tania Ovanne-Erias, Canton of Geneva, said: "I voted against this initiative because I do not think we should vote again on treaties that have already been voted in. I find this initiative absurd.
"I do not think we can think that in our country, Switzerland, we are part of a continent and a world."
Switzerland has also rejected a proposal to subsidize farmers who let cows and goats grow their horns naturally, while the debate over whether the removal of horns harms animals.
(Report by John Revill, Additional Report by Cecile Mantovani, edited by Andrew Roche and Mark Potter)
