Johann Jakob Blumer, Das schweizerische Bundesgericht – Eröffnungsrede von Dr. Blumer, Zeitschrift für schweizerische Gesetzgebung und Rechtspflege (published 1875-1882), 1875 Volume I, pp. 24 – 29
Johann Jakob Blumer – Das Schweizerische Bundesgericht
Background
Johann Jakob Blumer, born 1819, of Glarus and Schwanden (Canton of Glarus), was a historian, liberal-minded and dedicated supporter of the modern Confederation. After reading law from 1836-1840 in Lausanne and Zurich and partly abroad (Bonn and Berlin), and before his election as a federal judge in 1848, he was a judge at the civil court in Glarus. He played a key role in drafting of the new constitution as a delegate to the Diet, and in 1848 he chaired the Commission for the Determination of the Federal Seat. From 1848-1874 he represented the canton of Glarus in the Council of States, which he presided over in 1853. From 1865 he repeatedly chaired the Commission for the Revision of the Federal Constitution.
Since the founding of the Confederation he served as federal judge in the temporary federal court, which he presided over in 1858 and 1871. In addition to this judicial activity he worked in his home canton as a district administrator, councillor, and municipal councillor of Glarus, national archivist, editor of the “Glarner Zeitung” and newspaper correspondent for the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”. As an author of works in legal history and outstanding publications on constitutional law, he is regarded as the true father of Swiss federalist theory. The draft cantonal Factory Act (the first of the kind worldwide), Criminal Code, Civil Code and the revised Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure made him the most important legislator in his canton of those years. He was also a member of the founding commission of the Rapperswil-Glarus Railway and the extended committee for the Südostbahn, as well as a member of the board of directors of the bank in Glarus and of the Rentenanstalt (pensions administration). On behalf of Federal Councillor Ceresole, who had to step down as federal judge after his appointment to the Federal Council, he penned the preliminary draft of the Federal Act on Organizational Structures for the Administration of Federal Law, for the Federal Supreme Court to be newly constituted under the Federal Constitution of 1874, and saw this legislative work through to its conclusion. In 1874 he was appointed to the new permanent Federal Supreme Court as its first president. He died in his second year in office, in 1876. In the words of Alfred Kölz, Johann Jakob Blumer was both a constitutionalist and a statesman, representing a tradition observed up until the First World War. He promoted ideas of natural law characterized by individual freedoms and emphasized the importance of the rights of the individual. When the Federal Constitution of 1848 entered into force he functioned somewhat like the legal conscience of the Federal Assembly, and in handling constitutional appeals and upholding cantonal constitutions he achieved significant corrections upholding the rights of individuals and democracy based on equal rights (for a more detailed discussion see Rainer J. Schweizer, Die Errichtung des ständigen Bundesgerichts 1874 und die Verdienste von Johann Jakob Blumer um diese Reform, in: Clausdieter Schott/Eva Petrig Schuler, Ed., Festschrift für Claudio Soliva zum 65. Geburtstag, Zurich 1994, pp. 295 – 309).
In his speech at the opening of the first session of the new Federal Supreme Court on 12 January 1875, Johann Jakob Blumer emphasized the significance of the day in the historical development of Switzerland. He placed particular emphasis on the development of uniform nationwide jurisdiction based on a convergence of the differing legal cultures associated with the various national languages. The United States Supreme Court served him as an example worth following.
https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/004424/2014-12-05/; swisscovery – johann jakob blumer (slsp.ch)
Summary
In his address, President Blumer delineated the constitutional and civil laws which the new Federal Supreme Court would be addressing. With the creation of the permanent Federal Supreme Court, competences were more correctly distributed among the federal authorities. The part-time federal court of 1848 had in fact a narrow scope of activity than the arbitration tribunals that had settled cantonal disputes before the creation of the modern Federation. The Swiss people expect judges “to address the constitution and laws in their true meaning and spirit in an unbiased and objective manner, and to simply administer justice without being influenced by political parties or religious or societal groups. Just like the Supreme Court of Switzerland’s big sister republic across the ocean which, as it were, represents the principle of calm consistency in midst of general movement and fierce party struggles and has been able to build a well-deserved reputation through consistent application of the country’s constitution and laws, we hope to that we too will enjoy the applause and recognition of our fellow citizens within our modest sphere of activity.” Blumer wished to see the development of a uniform national law and a uniform Swiss jurisprudence. The diversity of languages and the resulting diversity of views, he observed, poses an obstacle in that German-speaking Switzerland looks to Germany or role models while the Latin regions of Switzerland look to France. However, the choice of Lausanne as seat of the Federal Supreme Court, he said, favours a gradual reconciliation of opposites and views. “Thus ultimately, close contact between the two elements will not lead to the exclusive domination of one over the other but rather to mutual understanding, and those legal views will prevail that appear to be most rational and most appropriate to the present state of culture, regardless of whether they are of German or French origin.”
This speech was preceded by a list of the nine federal judges appointed for the term of office 1875-1880. It is evident from this that, in addition to Johann Jakob Blumer, six other judges had belonged to the National Council or Council of States. With the new Federal Constitution, the parliamentary and judicial offices became incompatible.