Facts
The Federal Supreme Court decides on two separate appeals against a judgment of the Administrative Court of the Canton of Solothurn, which had approved the acquisition of an agricultural enterprise by the respondent B.
The properties of the agricultural enterprise originally belonged to A., who contributed them to a newly founded company in 1988. B. received the majority of the shares in this company in 1995. The Federal Office of Justice and A. challenge the approval of this share acquisition.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the acquisition of shares in a company whose main assets consist of agricultural properties is subject to the authorization requirement under the Federal Act on Rural Land Law (BGBB). The decisive factor for the assessment of the authorization requirements is generally the situation at the time of the authorization decision.
However, the Federal Supreme Court cannot conclusively assess whether the company's properties constitute an agricultural enterprise within the meaning of the BGBB. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the respondent was already a shareholder of the company…