Rejection of the statutory pre-emptive right of the tenant on an agricultural property

Facts

The appellant [X.] was the tenant of plot No. 480, which was sold to the respondent [Y.] on 7 December 2005. On 30 January 2006, [X.] declared to the land registry office that he was exercising the tenant's pre-emptive right under Art. 47 of the Federal Act on Rural Land Law (RLRA). The land registry office rejected [X.] 's request, as he did not operate an agricultural enterprise within the meaning of the RLRA. [X.] then filed a claim for allocation of ownership and registration in the land register. The cantonal courts dismissed the claim, as [X.] did not meet the requirements for exercising the pre-emptive right.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the decisions of the lower courts. It concluded that the appellant's operation at the decisive time on 30 January 2006 did not qualify as an agricultural enterprise within the meaning of Art. 7(1) RLRA, as it only had 0.466…