Facts
The appeal concerns the admissibility of a cantonal popular initiative in the Canton of Basel-Stadt with the title "Fundamental Rights for Primates". The initiative demands that the Cantonal Constitution be supplemented with a right of non-human primates to life and physical and mental integrity.
The Court of Appeal of the Canton of Basel-Stadt had declared the initiative admissible. Several persons appealed against this to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court notes that the Cantons are generally entitled to create rights beyond those guaranteed in the Federal Constitution. However, the Cantons may not interfere in areas that are conclusively regulated by the Confederation.
The Federal Supreme Court concludes that the fundamental rights for non-human primates demanded by the initiative, which would only bind the Canton and its authorities, do not conflict with superior law. Any potential indirect third-party effect on private individuals would be problematic, but does not lead to the invalidity of the initiative, as the wording of the initiative text itself has a permissible meaning.
Although the reasoning of the initiative on the signature sheet is…