The Parliamentary Services

The Parliamentary Services support council members in fulfilling their duties. They are answerable to Parliament and operate independently of the Federal Council and the Federal Administration

Support for Parliament

The Parliamentary Services serve as Parliament’s own independent staff office, which works on behalf of both chambers. The Parliamentary Services have a staff of around 300 (amounting to more than 200 full-time equivalents). Their tasks include organising Council and committee meetings and handling translations.

The Parliamentary Services support Parliament in fulfilling its duties. They:

plan and organise Council sessions and the parliamentary committee meetings;
provide a secretariat and translation services, and take the minutes of the debates of the Councils and the committees;
advise council members, in particular the presidents of the Councils and committees, on substantive issues and matters of procedure;
inform the public about Parliament and its activities:
support Parliament in maintaining international relations;
manage the parliamentary library and provide documentation and IT services to council members;
provide an adequate infrastructure and perform many other parliamentary administration tasks.

Expenses 2019 (CHF)
65 million

Staff (FTEs) 2019
222

Open Day events for the general public

Every year, around 100,000 people visit the Swiss Parliament. Visitors can watch Council debates from the galleries during the sessions. Between sessions, the Parliamentary Services offer guided tours of Parliament. Visitors can visit the parliament building without prior reservation during the Open Day events which are organised several times a year. Due to the high demand for visits during the sessions and guided tours, we recommend you make reservations as early as possible.

Open Day schedule 2021 (expected)
24 April
26 June
01 August
16 October