Facts
On 1 July 2005, the municipal assembly of the Political Municipality of Schiers issued a new Pasture Act, which provided for a merger of the four existing alpine cooperatives Drusa, Garschina, Mutta and Schuders into the public law Pasture and Alpine Cooperative Schiers. The alpine cooperatives Drusa, Garschina and Schuders, as well as one of their members each, contested the new Pasture Act with constitutional complaints to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Graubünden. The Administrative Court annulled the contested decree, as it classified the alpine cooperatives as private law legal entities. The Political Municipality of Schiers then filed a public law appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that the alpine cooperatives in the Municipality of Schiers are of a public law nature. This results from the provisions of the municipal Pasture Act of 1986, which regulates the use of the municipal alps. The Pasture Act provides for a close connection between the alpine cooperatives and the municipality, for example through the requirement for the municipal executive board to approve the statutes and the requirements for membership. These regulations correspond…