Switzerland voters reject Swiss law supremacy referendum News
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Switzerland voters reject Swiss law supremacy referendum

Voters in Switzerland rejected the Self-determination Initiative (also known as the “Swiss law, not foreign judges” initiative) on Sunday. The initiative was rejected in a vote of 33.8 percent for and 66.2 percent against the referendum.

The initiative would have required an amendment to the Constitution that would require any conflicts between international agreements and constitutional law be resolved in favor of the Constitution. If a conflict arises with an international agreement, the agreement would have to be approved by referendum. It would also have to be renegotiated to remove the inconsistency. Otherwise Switzerland would have to withdraw from the agreement.

Voters also rejected the Horned Cow Initiative in a vote of 45.3 percent for and 54.7 percent against. The Horned Cow Initiative would have given subsidies to farmers who did not remove the horns from their goats and cows. Voters passed the Statutory Basis for Monitoring Claimants in a vote of 64.7 percent for and 35.3 percent against. The statutory basis would put restrictions on how an insurance provider can conduct undercover observations.

Swiss voters have voted on several major issues in recent years through referendum votes. This includes national intelligence surveillance in September 2016, the use of nuclear power in November 2016 and corporate tax reform in February 2017.