Facts
The Federal Supreme Court ruled in a dispute between the Pharmacists' Association of the Canton of Zurich and several pharmacists on the one hand, and the Cantonal Government Council of Zurich on the other. The Cantonal Government Council had decided to amend the cantonal Therapeutic Products Ordinance, which allowed physicians throughout the canton, including in the cities of Zurich and Winterthur, to operate a private pharmacy with the approval of the Directorate of Health. The appellants claimed a violation of the separation of powers, the derogatory force of federal law, as well as equality before the law and the protection of legitimate expectations.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upheld the appeal and overturned the decision of the Cantonal Government Council. It stated that while the spatial demarcation of the prohibition on self-dispensation for physicians in § 17 of the cantonal Health Act is not free from defects in terms of equality before the law, this regulation may still be valid as long as the competent cantonal legislature has not…