Jura question Federal councillors can draw a line under the Jura conflict

After the cantons of Bern and Jura voted in favor of Moutier's change of canton, the official end of the Jura conflict is near. The Federal Assembly will be able to draw the final line when it approves the change of canton next year.

Jean-Christophe Geiser, the person responsible for the Jura dossier at the Federal Office of Justice, paid tribute on Monday to the decades-long process that led to the resolution of the most important intercantonal conflict in the history of the federal state.

This demonstrates the state's ability to resolve a conflict through dialog and democratic means, said Geiser in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. The process is unique in Switzerland. There is hardly a comparable process even abroad.

The final chapter concerning the cantonal affiliation of the Bernese Jura, including Moutier, began on March 25, 1994, when the Federal Council and the two cantons agreed to enter into a dialog. They created the Assemblée interjurassienne (AIJ), a consultative body with representatives from both cantons, as a platform for discussion. This body was to resolve the Jura conflict politically.

"New legal foundations then had to be created," said Geiser. This process was met with interest beyond the country's borders. "The Jura example could be used to solve other minority problems."

Weight of the Confederation

The Confederation has accompanied the entire process. As a mediator, within the framework of the Tripartite Conferences, but also at an operational level, for example during the votes in the town of Moutier in 2017 and especially in 2021. The Confederation secured the ballot at an unprecedented cost.

The Confederation's role as mediator will come to an end in 2025 with the approval of the border amendment resolution by the Federal Assembly.

Moutier's neighboring municipality of Belprahon, which has remained Bernese, will not be able to turn to the federal government again to demand a new vote on its cantonal affiliation, said Geiser. "From a human point of view, the Jura issue will be closed with the vote in the federal parliament."

SDA