Sorry for bringing this up again, but I have been stewing over it for the past week. Am I the only one upset about the access changes to these very important records, or perhaps being a newbie since December I missed previous discussion on the subject? ----Original Message----- From: Seelentag Wolfhart Dr. KSSG_RO <wolf.seelentag@kssg.ch> To: SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com <SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, 12 January 2000 09:42 Subject: [SWITZ] New Swiss Civil Registration Ordinance (was : Request of records from Benken, St. Gallen) >To get information on deceased people you have to get a permission from the >cantonal Civil Registry Office >Now - to get this permission, you have to prove that you are a direct >descendant ! -((. Prove means - have a chain of >documents from your birth certificate to your parents' marriage certificate >to .... the person you want information about. If you get the permission - >there is a fee (sfr 50 for St.Gallen - this might be different in other >cantons). With this permission you are now allowed to approach the local >Civil Registration Office and ask for a Familienschein - see >http://swiss.genealogy.net/intro-e.htm >for which the fee will usually be in the sfr 25 ... 50 range (depending on >the number of entries, i.e. mainly the number of children). SO - you must PAY for certificates of proof, in order to PAY to receive permission, in order to PAY for the information required! THAT IS BEUROCRACY AT ITS MOST ABSURD!!! Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind (in fact I expect to have to) paying in the course of my research, but this is paying THREE times for ONE lot of data. What was the reason behind this? I can only imagine it was 1) revenue gathering or 2) to prevent people from having reasonable access to their own family records - which in my mind is inherantly wrong. Are there Genealogical Societies in Switzerland, and if so did they fight to prevent this from going ahead? If no one has made a fuss about it - they should have! In addition: >Nobody will get any information on living people : you are supposed to >contact these people themselfes What about information about yourself? In New Zealand the privacy laws give you the permission, in fact the RIGHT to access, view, and if necessary to correct any information held about yourself. When I send updates about our family to the local Swiss embassy here in New Zealand I assume it gets into the Rufer Family Register in Münchenbuchsee correctly. Surely I have the right to view our page and/or receive a copy of the information to confirm it is there, and correct. What do others think? Regards, Anna - from Putaruru, New Zealand . ______________________________