Swiss federalism gives Swiss cantons a great deal of autonomy. As such, each canton has its own constitution. Political rights in particular can vary quite significantly from one canton to another, and even from one municipality to another (e.g., voting rights for foreigners).

The cantons also levy taxes. The cantons have broad powers in the areas of education and training, health, social welfare, the organization of the justice system, policing, and transportation. The cantons also levy taxes and duties.

The constitution of the canton of Geneva differs from other cantons in that it can be amended in part. In contrast, the constitutions of other cantons generally have to be revised in their entirety. Thanks to this difference, modern legal principles (e.g., the right to housing) have been incorporated into a structure dating back almost a century and a half, namely the 1847 constitution. However, for the sake of clarity and readability, a complete revision of the text was put to a popular vote in February 2008. The principle was accepted, and on October 19, 2008, the Geneva Constituent Assembly was elected to draft a new constitution for the canton. Accepted in a referendum on October 14, 2012, by 54.1% of voters, the new constitution came into force on June 1, 2013.

Authorities Legislative power

Legislative power is exercised by the Grand Council. It is composed of 100 deputies elected directly by the electorate using a proportional representation system tempered by a 7% quorum. Their term of office has been five years since the new constitution came into force in 2013. It was previously four years (three years until 1957) and is renewable indefinitely. Nevertheless, internal rules within several political parties limit the number of consecutive terms that may be served.

The Grand Council is responsible for passing laws in all areas of cantonal jurisdiction and for approving the state budget and accounts. Furthermore, it exercises supreme oversight over the administration of the executive branch. Geneva is one of the few cantons in which each representative has the right to initiate legislation. Thus, each representative may submit a fully drafted bill to the legislature.

The Grand Council is assisted by a sergeant-at-arms.

Elections

In the first round, the population renewed its parliament, among other things. Following the elections of , the Genevan Grand Council for the second legislature (2023–2028) is composed as follows:

Results of the first round (turnout 37.14%, 99,742 valid votes out of 275,893 registered electors, 7% quorum, 100 seats to be filled):

Parties Votes Percentageof votes +/- Seats +/- Liberal-Radical Party(PLR) 17,281 19.02% 6.16 6 Socialist Party(PS) 13,257 14.65% 0.65 1 The Greens(PES) 11,798 12.93% 0.22 0 Geneva Citizens' Movement(MCG) 10,603 11.72% 2.29 3 Swiss People's Party(UDC) 9,677 10.69% 3.37 4 Liberté et Justice Sociale(LJS) 7,823 8.45% 8.45 10 The Centre(LC) 7,057 7.88% 2.83 3

Executive power It is exercised by the Council of State, which is a college of seven members elected directly and separately by the Geneva electorate by majority vote. It is always a coalition. Since the 2012 Constitution, the President of the Council of State, breaking with the tradition of annual rotation among its members, is appointed by the Council of State for the entire term of office (five years). The President is responsible for preparing the meetings of the Council of State, setting the agenda in collaboration with the other members of the government and the Chancellor. The president convenes any extraordinary meetings. The president also has provisional power, meaning that they can take exceptional decisions if the situation requires it, which are then formally ratified by the State Council. This presidency for the entire legislative term is uncommon in other cantonal governments; only the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Vaud have the same system.

Following the Maudet affair, on November 21, 2019, the Grand Council adopted two bills to return to the annual rotation of the presidency of the cantonal government. These bills, which affect the Geneva Constitution, must be submitted to a popular vote. Both texts were approved by voters in the September 27, 2020, referendum and are now in effect. The rotating presidency was officially reinstated on October 17, 2020.

The composition of the government for the 2023-2028 term is as follows:

+ Composition and evolution of the Council of State since June 1, 2023. Identity Party Function Department Nathalie Fontanet PLR President since June 1, 2024 Department of Finance and Human Resources (DF) Thierry Apothéloz PS Vice-President since June 1, 2024 Department of Social Cohesion (DCS) Antonio Hodgers The Greens Councillor of State President from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024 Department of Territory (DT) Anne Hiltpold PLR Councillor of State Department of Public Instruction, Training and Youth (DIP) Carole-Anne Kast PS Councillor of State Department of Institutions and Digital Affairs (DIN) Pierre Maudet LJS Councillor of State Department of Health and Mobility (DSM) Delphine Bachmann The Centre Councillor of State Department of Economy and Employment (DEE) Michèle Righetti-El Zayadi Independent State Chancellor State Chancellery (CHA)

The Council of State is assisted by a chancellor. Michèle Righetti has held this position since May 14, 2018. Her predecessor, Anja Wyden Guelpa

(PSS), was chancellor from 2009 to 2018.

The seven departments and the chancellery make up the Geneva cantonal administration. As of December 31, 2005, the administration had 15,729 employees for a total of 13,522.18 positions. Elections

+ Results of the second round of the by-election for the Council of State on March 28, 2021 Candidate name Votes Party Status Fabienne Fischer 47,507 The Greens Elected Pierre Maudet 38,184 Independent Not elected Delphine Bachmann 15,408 PDC Not elected Yves Nidegger 12,485 UDC Not elected Turnout 42.74%

In , following numerous twists and turns in the Maudet affair, the Council of State further exacerbated the situation that the canton has been experiencing since the affair began in May 2018. It temporarily dismissed Pierre Maudet from his Department of Economic Development (DDE) and delegated his duties to his colleague, Finance Minister Nathalie Fontanet. This decision was taken on the basis of an initial damning internal report on the State Councilor's working methods with his colleagues. He resigned a few days later and announced that he would be running for re-election. + Results of the first round of the by-election for the Council of State on March 7, 2021 Candidate name Votes Party Status Fabienne Fischer 38,626 The Greens Not elected Pierre Maudet 29,275 Independent Not elected Cyril Aellen 20,129 PLR Not elected Yves Nidegger 17,045 UDC Not elected Michel Matter 12,322 PVL Not elected Morten Gisselbaek 6,407 PdT Not elected Olivier Pahud 1,562 Évolution suisse Not elected Yann Testa 777 PBD Not elected Absolute majority 64,734 Turnout 48.15%

and In the 2018 elections, 31 candidates competed for the top seven seats on the State Council. With the exception of François Longchamp (PLR), all the other incumbents stood for re-election. On April 15, Pierre Maudet obtained more than 50,000 votes, securing his re-election in the first round. During the second round, all the outgoing candidates were re-elected, except for Luc Barthassat (PDC), who lost his seat to the socialist Thierry Apothéloz, who beat him by more than 10,000 votes and, at the same time, entered the government. Nathalie Fontanet of the PLR succeeded the PLR magistrate François Longchamp.

The Judiciary The canton – sovereign insofar as its sovereignty is not limited by the Federal Constitution (Art. 3 FC) – is responsible for enforcing certain federal and cantonal laws within its territory. For this purpose, it has courts in all areas of law (civil law, criminal law, administrative law).

The canton of Geneva is unique in that it forms a single judicial district. This means that there is only one court of first instance for civil matters (the Civil Court) and one court of first instance for criminal matters (the Criminal Court) for the entire canton. The court of second instance is the Court of Justice, which consists of a civil court, a criminal court, and an administrative court. The Court of Justice is therefore the equivalent of what most cantons call the “Cantonal Court” (Kantonsgericht).

Therefore, in Geneva, judicial power is exercised by: the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Civil Court, including the Court of First Instance, the Rent Tribunal, and the Rent Conciliation Commission, the Criminal Court, comprising the Compulsory Measures Court, the Police Court, the Correctional Court, the Criminal Court, and the Court of Enforcement of Sentences and Measures, the Guardianship Court and Justice of the Peace, the Labor Court, the Juvenile Court, the Administrative Court of First Instance, the Court of Justice, comprising the Civil Court, i.e., the Civil Chamber, the Rent Tribunal, the Labor Chamber, and the Supervisory Chamber; the Criminal Court, i.e., the Criminal Appeals Chamber and the Criminal Appeals and Review Chamber; the Public Law Court, comprising the Administrative Chamber and the Social Insurance Chamber, the Court of Appeal of the Judiciary. Under the conditions defined by the Federal Act on the Federal Supreme Court, judgments and rulings of the Geneva courts may be brought before the Federal Supreme Court.

Magistrates, who are very often tacitly elected via the Inter-Party Commission, are subject to supervision by the High Council of the Judiciary during their term of office. A list of Geneva magistrates (by jurisdiction, seniority, and political affiliation) can be found on the institution's website.art. 50 para. 5 Const. GE

The judiciary is governed by a body called the Management Committee. This committee is composed of the Attorney General, who chairs it, a judge from a civil court or tribunal, a judge from a criminal court or tribunal, a judge from an administrative court or tribunal, and a member of the judiciary staff. In addition, the Secretary General attends the meetings of the Management Commission in an advisory capacity. The members of the Management Commission are elected for a term of three years and may be re-elected once.

Attorney General In Geneva, the Attorney General is considered – honorarily – to be the chief magistrate of the Republic, even though protocol regulations place him third in line. In fact, the office of this magistrate is very old, dating back to 1534.

The Attorney General is elected by the electorate using the majority system for a 6-year term.art. 132 para. 1 Const. GE He organizes and directs the Public Prosecutor's Office, chairs the Judicial Power Management Committee, and exercises other civil and administrative powers conferred by law.see in particular art. 79 of the Genevan law on judicial organization This position is currently held by Olivier Jornot, who was elected by the Grand Council of Geneva on December 1, 2011 to complete the term of Daniel Zappelli, who resigned. On April 13, 2014, Olivier Jornot was re-elected for a new 6-year term. On February 3, 2020, he was tacitly re-elected for a third 6-year term.

Court of Auditors On , Genevan voters approved the creation of a Court of Auditors based on the French model, with 85.9% of votes.