Facts
The Stamm-Frautschi spouses had provided in a succession contract that the wife's heirs could be allocated the "Matten" estate in Turbach, Gstaad, for 28,000 francs. After the death of the spouses, the wife's sister, Mrs. Reuteler-Frautschi, requested the allocation of the estate under the peasant inheritance law. This request was rejected by the cantonal authorities on the grounds that the estate did not allow for a sufficient agricultural existence within the meaning of Art. 620 CC (CC, Swiss Civil Code) as revised.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal confirms this judgment. It considers that the new legal requirement of a "sufficient agricultural existence" introduced by the revision of Art. 620 CC aims to restrict the application of the peasant inheritance law to only those estates that allow for the autonomous existence of the family, to the exclusion of very small operations. According to the detailed calculations made by the cantonal authority, the agricultural income of the estate in question covers only 46% of…