Facts
On October 29, 2010, the Latin Conference of Heads of Departments of Justice and Police adopted the Latin Concordat on the Cultivation and Trade of Hemp (hereinafter: the Latin Concordat), which entered into force on March 1, 2012 after the accession of the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud and Neuchâtel. The Latin Concordat aims to establish common rules on the cultivation and trade of hemp, with the purpose of preventing violations of federal law, particularly in the areas of narcotics and agriculture.
On September 7, 2011, A., B., C., D. and E., domiciled in the canton of Vaud and operating or having operated businesses active in the trade of hemp-related articles, filed a public law appeal with the Federal Tribunal against the Latin Concordat.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal examined its jurisdiction ex officio and considered that the Latin Concordat, as a normative intercantonal convention, was subject to challenge before it as a cantonal normative act within the meaning of Art. 82 let. b LTF.
The Federal Tribunal then found that federal legislation on agriculture and narcotics must be considered exhaustive with regard to hemp and its derivatives. Although the Latin Concordat regulates the field of agricultural hemp that falls outside the strict framework of federal legislation, it nevertheless imposes conditions and requirements aimed at and having the effect of achieving the same prevention and…