Facts
On September 30, 1985, X., Y. and the general partnership Z. sold a property located in Geneva to the public limited company E. for the sum of 52,600,000 francs. At the request of the parties and for reasons of personal security, the notary M. requested that the sale not be published in the Official Cantonal Gazette. This request was rejected by the Land Registry Conservator of Geneva.
The Supervisory Authority of the Land Registry of the Canton of Geneva dismissed the appeal of the sellers against this decision. The sellers and notary M. then filed an administrative appeal to the Federal Tribunal, requesting the annulment of the decision of the cantonal authority, invoking the invalidity of Article 69 of the Cantonal Regulation on the Land Registry in relation to federal law.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considered that Article 970 of the Swiss Civil Code exhaustively regulates land registration from the perspective of private law. Although the cantons may enact supplementary rules of public law, these rules must not contradict the meaning or spirit of federal law.
In this case, the official publication provided for in Article 69 of the Geneva regulation contradicts the necessity, according to federal law, of a legitimate, personal,…