Facts
The case concerns the intended partition of an agricultural business by the appellant S. The Department of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Schwyz had refused to grant the permit for the partition and the sale of two parcels, as the business must require at least half the labor of a farming family in order to fall under the protection of the Federal Act on Rural Land Law (BGBB). S. then filed an administrative court appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court first examined how the term "half the labor of a farming family" according to Art. 7 para. 1 BGBB should be interpreted. It concluded that this value corresponds to 2,100 working hours per year according to the legislative materials, even though this is not explicitly stated in the text of the law.
Furthermore, the Federal Supreme Court found that in determining the workload required for the management of the business, one must not rely solely on the current working methods of the business owner, but rather use objective criteria. This corresponds to the intention of the legislator, who emphasized during the drafting of the BGBB that the…