Context

Anyone who cannot reconcile military service with their conscience has the option of performing civilian service. To do so, they must submit an application. Until 2009, an admissions committee assessed whether the conflict of conscience was credible. Since then, applicants have demonstrated their conflict of conscience by agreeing to complete 1.5 times as many days of civilian service as would remain to be completed in the armed forces.

The proposal

The Federal Council and Parliament wish to ensure that civilian service remains an exception. The Bill is intended to ensure that fewer people switch to civilian service. It is aimed primarily at members of the armed forces who only switch to civilian service after having already completed a large part of their military service. This is because, under the current system, these individuals are required to complete only a relatively small number of additional days of service. Under the new rules, all those liable for civilian service must complete at least 150 days of service. Further measures include stricter guidelines for the planning of civilian service placements. This is intended to prevent those liable for civilian service from having an advantage over those liable for military service. A referendum has been called against the bill. Consequently, it will be put to a vote.

Contents of the proposal

Context

Since 1996, anyone who cannot reconcile military service with their conscience has had the option of performing civilian service. To do so, they must submit an application.1 Initially, a commission assessed whether the conflict of conscience was credible. Since 2009, applicants have demonstrated their conflict of conscience by agreeing to complete 1.5 times as many days of service in civilian service as they would in the military. Since 2009, an average of over 6,000 people have been admitted to civilian service each year. In 2025, the figure stood at 7,211. This is the highest figure since the introduction of civilian service.

Six measures

The bill sets out six measures designed to ensure that military service remains the rule and civilian service the exception.

Minimum number of service days

Anyone transferring to civilian service must now complete at least 150 days of civilian service, regardless of how many days of military service they would have had left to complete. This prevents the additional period of service in civilian service from amounting to just a few weeks or even days, because many days of military service have already been completed. This measure is intended to ensure that the army loses fewer soldiers in whom it has invested in training.

Equal conditions for officers and non-commissioned officers

Currently, non-commissioned officers and officers who transfer to civilian service are required to complete only 10 per cent more service days than would remain in the military. Under the new rules, non-commissioned officers and officers will also be required to complete 1.5 times as many service days. This measure is intended to reduce the number of departures from the army’s officer corps.

No special rule for medical professionals

The army is short of medical staff. Medical professionals and medical students can currently use civilian service as a form of professional experience by undertaking an assignment in their specialist field. This makes it attractive for them to perform civilian service. For this reason, civilian service assignments requiring a degree in human, dental or veterinary medicine will no longer be permitted in future. However, medical professionals and medical students may still perform civilian service in another field of activity in the event of a conflict of conscience.

No circumvention of the compulsory shooting duty

Under the current system, anyone who has already completed all their military service days and switches to civilian service is no longer required to carry out civilian service assignments. In the armed forces, however, certain obligations would remain, such as the annual compulsory shooting exercise, known as the ‘Obligatorisches’. For this reason, people who have completed all their military service days will no longer be permitted to switch to civilian service. However, an application for civilian service may still be submitted in the event of a call-up for active or auxiliary service.

Annual service

In line with the rules in the armed forces, those liable for civilian service must perform service annually from the year following their first period of service until all service days have been completed. Previously, civilian service periods could be planned more flexibly.

Rapid deployment following admission

Civilian service includes a so-called ‘long period of service’ lasting 180 days. This corresponds to basic training in the armed forces, but lasts longer. Anyone who applies for civilian service whilst on basic training must now complete the long period of service in the year following their admission. The same rule therefore applies as in the armed forces: those discharged from basic training are called up again quickly.

Impact

It is not possible to predict exactly how much the bill will affect the number of those liable for civilian service and army strength. However, it is likely that the bill will result in fewer people switching to civilian service. Consequently, in the long term, civilian service will be able to contribute less to society.

Results

The proposal was accepted.

Voter turnout: 58.3 %
Yes votes: 52.5 %