Facts
The case concerns a dispute over the ownership of a strip of land located along Lake Maggiore, in the Municipality of Vira Gambarogno. The Canton of Ticino has appealed the decision of the Cantonal Court of Appeal that had recognized the private ownership of this shore by the company FGA Finanzgesellschaft und Anlagen AG.
The sole expert, within the framework of the cadastral survey of the Municipality, had attributed the parcel in question to the Canton of Ticino, considering it part of the public domain. However, FGA had sued the State of the Canton of Ticino, requesting the determination of its ownership of the parcels in question, which it had acquired in 1956. The Court of Appeal had granted FGA's request, recognizing the private ownership of the shore.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considered the public law appeal filed by the Canton of Ticino to be admissible, as the contested decision affects it in its private sphere, as an owner, and not in the exercise of public power.
On the merits, the Federal Tribunal noted that, according to the cantonal law on the public domain, the shores of lakes and watercourses are part of the public domain and cannot be the subject of private ownership, except in the case of works built in good faith and in accordance with the previous law. The Cantonal Court, by…