Judgment on the Admissibility of the Appeal against a Judgment of Extension by a Lower Court

Facts

As the landlord of a one-room apartment in Sarnen, M. terminated the tenancy of his tenant v. W. at the end of September 1990 with effect from January 31, 1991. v. W. demanded an extension of the tenancy from the Obwalden Conciliation Authority for Tenancy and Lease Matters until April 30, 1993. The Conciliation Authority rejected the request, whereupon v. W. filed a claim for extension with the Judicial Committee of the Canton of Obwalden, which dismissed the claim on February 20, 1991.

By way of an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court, the plaintiff v. W. requested the annulment of the judgment of February 20, 1991 and the extension of the tenancy until the end of April 1993. However, the Federal Supreme Court did not enter into the appeal.

Considerations

As a rule, an appeal is only admissible against final decisions of higher cantonal courts that cannot be challenged by an ordinary cantonal legal remedy. Against final decisions of lower courts, an appeal is only open if such a court has decided as the last, but not the only, cantonal instance.

The Judicial Committee as a division of the Cantonal Court, which is the "lower" court in the Canton of Obwalden, has decided on the extension claim as the sole instance. According to the federal legal…