Facts
Raas AG plans to renovate or rebuild eight residential units on Mühletobelstrasse in Frauenfeld. Markus Frei, the owner of the adjacent Parcel No. 336, filed an objection to the construction project. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Thurgau dismissed his complaint both in terms of public law and private law.
Frei then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. He alleged a violation of Art. 8 and 684 of the Swiss Civil Code (CC) and argued that the Administrative Court had neither made findings of fact nor assessed the alleged negative immissions.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that while in the past most cantons made use of their legislative competence under Art. 686 CC and enacted private law construction regulations, today the cantonal public law is almost exclusively applicable.
The cantonal public law must not contradict the purpose and intent of federal civil law, but it has an "expansive force" and increasingly determines what is permissible in terms of impacts based on the location and local usage. If the existence of excessive impact within the meaning of Art. 684 CC is denied on the grounds that the construction project complies with the relevant public law distance regulations, and these are regulations that have…