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RS 510.625 Order of 21 May 2008 on geographical names (ONGéo)

Original Language Title: RS 510.625 Ordonnance du 21 mai 2008 sur les noms géographiques (ONGéo)

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510.625

Geographical Names Ordinance

(ONGéo)

21 May 2008 (State on 1 July 2008)

The Swiss Federal Council,

See art. 20 of the law of 23 June 2006 on the harmonization of registers 1 ,

Having regard to art. 5, para. 2 and 3, 7, 22, para. 3, and 29, para. 3, of the Law of 5 October 2007 on geoinformation 2 ,

See art. 6, para. 2, of the Act of 4 October 1985 on public transport 3 ,

Stops:

Section 1 General provisions

Art. 1 Purpose

Geographical names must be used consistently in official relations, as well as in all official media.

Art. 2 Purpose

This Order sets out the jurisdiction, procedure and management of costs relating to the identification, determination, maintenance and management of geographical names.

Art. 3 Definitions

In this order, the following means:

A.
Geographical names: Names of communes, localities, streets, stations and topographical objects;
B.
Geographical names of official measurements: Names of topographic objects used in the layers of information in the nomenclature (local names, place names and lees), ground cover and miscellaneous objects;
C.
Geographical names of national measurements: Names of topographic objects, in accordance with the topographic model of the landscape of national measurements;
D.
Communes: The smallest political entities carrying out the tasks assigned to the political commune by the cantonal legislation and defined unequivocally by a territory and a name;
E.
Locations: Urbanized, inhabited and geographically delimited areas with their own name and postal code;
F.
Streets: streets, roads, roads, alleles, places and places known as street names for addresses;
G.
Stations: Stations, stations, including upstream, downstream and intermediate stations, as well as stops in all regular races used for the carriage of passengers referred to in s. 1, para. 2, of the order of 25 November 1998 on timetables 1 ;
H.
Topographical objects: Streams and bodies of water (e.g. rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, waterfalls, springs), glaciers, agglomerations (e.g. towns, villages, neighbourhoods, hamlets, isolated farms), terrain (e.g., mountains and hills), landscapes (e.g.: Sites, valleys, alpages, fields, forests), cultural objects (e.g.: castles, castles, convents and monasteries, churches, chapels), public constructions (e.g. schools, hospitals, mountain huts) and special objects of the pathways Communication (e.g., bridges, passes, tunnels, airfields).

1 [ RO 1999 698 . RO 2009 6055 Art. 15]. See currently art. 1 para. 1de l' O du 11 nov. 2009 on schedules (RS 745.13 ).

Art. 4 Principles

1 Geographical names are easy to read and write and enjoy wide acceptance.

2 They are based on the written language model of the language region concerned, as far as possible and judicious.

3 Geographical names and their spelling can only be changed if the public interest so requires.

Art. 5 General Geographical Names

The Federal Office of Topography enacts and publishes general gazetteers, prepared on the basis of recommendations issued by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names.

Art. 6 Execution Rules

1 The Federal Office of Topography shall lay down the rules applicable to the geographical names of national measurements and official measurements. They include in particular the rules specific to the linguistic regions of the country.

2 It makes recommendations on spelling:

A.
Common names;
B.
Names of localities;
C.
Street names and the addressing of buildings.

3 The Federal Transportation Agency provides guidelines for the spelling of station names.

Section 2 Geographical names of the national body

Art. 7

1 The Federal Office of Topography performs the following tasks in the field of national measurements:

A.
Identification, identification, updating and management of names of topographic objects that are exclusively national maps;
B.
Relevant selection of geographical names of official measurements for topographic and cartographic national measurements;
C.
Management of the geographical names of the national measurements (topographic model of the landscape).

2 It makes available to the public research carried out in toponymy and the publications on the subject, as well as other background information in the field of geographical names.

Section 3 Geographical names of official measurements

Art. 8 Jurisdiction

1 Geographical names are identified, updated and managed by the official measurement department.

2 The cantons designate the competent service in their legislation to determine the geographical names of the official body of measurements.

Art. Cantonal Nomenclature Commission

1 The canton establishes a Nomenclature Committee.

2 The Nomenclature Committee is the specialised body of the canton for the geographical names of official measurements.

3 It verifies the linguistic conformity of these names during their reading and updating, ensures compliance with the implementing rules referred to in Art. 6 and forwards its findings and recommendations to the appropriate service for the determination of names.

4 If the competent department does not intend to follow the recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee, it requests the opinion of the Federal Directorate for Cadastral Measurements.

Section 4

Art. 10 Principles

1 The name of a commune must be unequivocal throughout the territory of Switzerland and must not be confused with the name of another municipality.

2 It must be provided with a complement in the following cases:

A.
Several communes have the same name;
B.
The names of several communes have different spellings, but they are pronounced in the same way.
Art. 11 Jurisdiction

The Federal Office of Topography is responsible for:

A.
The screening of common names;
B.
Approval of the identification and amendment of common names.
Art. 12 Objects of Screening and Approval

The screening and approval are intended to verify:

A.
Respect for the principles set out in s. 10;
B.
Compliance with the rules of performance referred to in s. 6;
C.
The suitability of the name.
Art. 13 Screening Procedure

1 The competent authority under the cantonal law shall submit the following amendments to the name of the communes to the Federal Office of Topography:

A.
Changing the name of a municipality;
B.
Name of the municipality in the event of a merger of municipalities;
C.
Names of communes in case of division of communes.

2 The request can contain multiple options. They are examined separately.

3 The preliminary exhibits are attached to the screening application. They shall contain all the particulars and documents necessary for the assessment provided for in Art. 12.

4 The procedure shall be conducted in accordance with Art. 62 A At 62 C The Act of 21 March 1997 on the organisation of government and administration 1 (concentration of decision-making procedures). The deadline for federal services to take a position is 30 days.


Art. 14 Decision at the end of the screening

1 The decision taken after the screening indicates:

A.
Whether the proposed names are admissible;
B.
The reason for the rejection if a name is not considered responsive.

2 The decision shall be communicated no later than two months after the filing of the application.

Art. 15 Approval Procedure

1 The competent service according to the cantonal law shall file the application for approval with the Federal Office of Topography:

A.
After prior review of the name: no later than 30 days before the expected date of entry into force of the amendment;
B.
Without prior review of the name: no later than two months before the expected date of entry into force of the amendment.

2 The preliminary exhibits are attached to the application. They shall contain all the particulars and documents necessary for the assessment referred to in Art. 12.

3 The service that files the application is party to the proceedings.

4 If the name of the municipality is in conformity with the decision adopted at the end of the screening, the Federal Office of Topography shall give its approval at the outset. In any other case, it shall conduct a full approval procedure.

5 The procedure shall be conducted in accordance with Art. 62 A At 62 C The Act of 21 March 1997 on the organisation of government and administration 1 (concentration of decision-making procedures).


Art. 16 Approval decision

1 The approval decision shall be notified to the parties and published in the Federal Worksheet.

2 It shall be communicated to the services managing an official directory upon its entry into force.

Art. 17 Recourse

1 The approval decision may be appealed to the Federal Council. The latter takes a final decision.

2 Federal Offices participating in the approval procedure shall be heard in the appeal proceedings.

Art. 18 Obligation to provide information

The competent cantonal service shall inform the Federal Office of Topography of the following changes no later than 30 days before the date of their entry into force:

A.
Territorial changes between municipalities;
B.
Deletion of a common name in the event of a merger or division of municipalities;
C.
Changes in district names or comparable administrative entities in the canton;
D.
Changes in belonging to a district or to a comparable administrative entity in the canton.
Art. 19 Official Directory of Municipalities

1 The Federal Statistical Office:

A.
Assigns a mandatory number to each commune;
B.
Establishes, manages and publishes the official directory of the municipalities of Switzerland.

2 The official directory of the communes shall be subdivided by canton and by district or any other comparable administrative entity in the canton.

3 The names and numbers of the communes in the official directory are binding on the authorities.

Section 5 Localities

Art. Principles

1 The urbanised areas of a single, geographically delimitable and national significance, which may also include secondary agglomerations, must be equipped with a common name and postal code.

2 Any locality is assigned a unique postal code, or even several unified postal codes in certain cases.

3 The spelling of the names of localities and the geographical delimitation of the localities (perimeter) of official measurements are binding on the authorities.

Art. Skills

1 The competent service according to the cantonal law defines the locality after having heard the communes concerned and La Poste Suisse (Poste), and then fixes the delimitation, the name and its spelling.

2 The service responsible for official measurement coordinates the changes of the perimeter with the communes concerned and the post office. The competent service according to the cantonal law shall fix these territorial amendments and communicate them to the Federal Office of Topography.

3 The Post Office fixed the postal code after having heard the canton and the municipalities, and then communicated it to the Federal Office of Topography.

Art. Procedure

The requirements for the screening and approval of common names also govern the identification or modification of the name of a locality.

Art. Fees

1 The cost of determining or modifying a locality name shall be borne by the applicant.

2 No charges shall be charged if the determination or modification is the consequence of the development of the agglomeration or of organisational constraints in the context of the universal service within the meaning of Art. 2 to 4 of the Federal Act of April 30, 1997 1 .

3 The Federal Office of Topography shall draw up a consolidated estimate as part of the preliminary examination, in cooperation with the services of the Confederation concerned and the post office, and shall communicate it with the decision taken at the conclusion of the screening.

4 It sets the fees in the approval decision.


1 [RO 1997 2452, 2000 2355 Annex, c. 23, 2003 4297, 2006 2197 Annex c. 85, 2007 5645. RO 2012 4993 Annex c. I]. Presently within the meaning of s. 14 of the L of 17 Dec. 2010 on the post (SR 783.0 ).

Art. 24 Official directory

The Federal Office of Topography establishes, manages and publishes the official directory of localities with the postal code and the perimeter associated with each of them.

Section 6 Deductions

Art. 25 Principles

1 All the streets of the settlements and other populated areas are given a name.

2 The spelling of street names containing elements of the geographical names of official measurements is harmonized at the regional level.

3 The spelling of street names in official measurements is binding on the authorities.

Art. 26 Jurisdiction

1 The cantons guarantee the full name of the streets.

2 They regulate the jurisdiction and procedure for determining and harmonizing street names.

3 The fixed street names shall be communicated to the cantonal office of the cadastre and to the Federal Statistics Office, as well as to universal service providers within the meaning of art. 2 to 4 of the Federal Act of April 30, 1997 1 .


1 [RO 1997 2452, 2000 2355 Annex, c. 23, 2003 4297, 2006 2197 Annex c. 85, 2007 5645. RO 2012 4993 Annex c. I]. Currently registered postal service providers within the meaning of Art. 4 of the L of 17 Dec. 2010 on the post (RS 783.0 ).

Section 7 Stations

Art. 27 Principles

1 The names of stations must be univoques over the entire Swiss territory.

2 The station is given the name of the locality it serves.

3 If a station serves several localities or serves none, the name most relevant to the transportation network (s) considered is associated with it. As a general rule, it has only one name.

4 If several stations serve the same locality, they are distinguished from each other by supplements on behalf of the locality. The supplement must not be taken over the name of a company, unless it is identical to a geographical name.

5 To the extent possible, the spelling must coincide with that of other geographical names.

Art. 28 Jurisdiction

1 The Federal Office of Transport fixes the names of the stations on request.

2 Can file an application:

A.
Concessionary transport undertakings;
B.
The municipality on the territory of which the station is located;
C.
The township on whose territory the station is located.
Art. Purpose of Determination

The purpose of the determination is to verify:

A.
Respect for the principles set out in s. 27;
B.
Compliance with the guidelines of the Federal Transportation Agency under s. 6, para. 3.
Art. Determination Procedure

1 The preliminary exhibits are attached to the request for the determination or modification of a station name. They shall contain all the particulars and documents necessary for the assessment referred to in Art. 29.

2 The procedure shall be conducted in accordance with Art. 62 A At 62 C The Act of 21 March 1997 on the organisation of government and administration 1 (concentration of decision-making procedures).


Art. Determination decision

The decision of determination shall be notified to the parties concerned, namely the transport undertakings, the municipality and the canton.

Art. 32 Recourse

1 The determination of determination may be appealed to the Federal Council. The latter takes a final decision.

2 Federal Offices participating in the determination procedure shall be heard in the appeal proceedings.

Art. 33 Fees

1 The costs of determining or modifying a station name shall be borne by the applicant.

2 No fee is charged if the determination or modification is the consequence of:

A.
Agglomeration development;
B.
Modification of the network of lines;
C.
Organisational constraints of transport undertakings.

3 The Federal Transportation Agency shall prepare a consolidated estimate at the request of the applicant, in cooperation with the relevant Confederation departments and the transport undertakings.

4 It fixes the costs in the decision.

Art. 34 Directory

The directory of station names is published as part of the official publication of schedules within the meaning of s. 10, para. 1, of the order of 25 November 1998 on timetables 1 .


1 [ RO 1999 698 . RO 2009 6055 Art. 15]. See currently O of 11 Nov 2009 on schedules (RS 745.13 ).

Section 8 Coordination and participation

Art. 35 International Coordination

The Federal Office of Topography is responsible for international coordination in the field of geographical names.

Art. 36 National Coordination

1 The Federal Office of Topography coordinates the activities of the Confederation in the field of geographical names.

2 It may involve other services of the Confederation, companies of the Confederation and specialised bodies of the cantons.

Art. Participation of the cantons, consultation of the organisations

The competent Federal Office shall ensure appropriate participation of the cantons and appropriate consultation of the partner organisations in the development of implementing rules.

Section 9 Final provisions

Art. 38 Repeal of the law in force

The Order of 30 December 1970 concerning the names of places, municipalities and stations 1 Is repealed.


1 [RO 1970 1651, 1991 370 Annex c. 3, 1997 2779 ch. II 28, 1999 704 ch. II 14]

Art. 39 Entry into force

This order shall enter into force on 1 Er July 2008.



RO 2008 2861


1 RS 431.02
2 RS 510.62
3 [RO 1986 1974, 1994 2290 ch. V, 1995 3517 ch. I 10 4093 annex, c. 13, 1998 2856. RO 2009 5597 hp. III]. See the current PMQ of 20 March 2009 on passenger transport (RS 745.1 )


State 1 Er July 2008