Facts
On 16 February 1998, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) submitted an application to the President of the Federal Appraisal Commission, District 9, for the opening of a combined railway law plan approval and expropriation procedure for the construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, Erstfeld section. The President of the Appraisal Commission granted this application on 23 February 1998 and opened the procedure. The residents Z. and G. from Erstfeld filed separate administrative court appeals against this decision.Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeals. It stated that decisions of the Presidents of the Federal Appraisal Commissions on applications for the opening of an expropriation procedure are subject to administrative jurisdiction if they can cause irreparable damage. However, such damage can only be affirmed insofar as the appellant raises objections that relate to the opening decision itself and the matters regulated therein and which cannot be raised later.
According to the provisions of the Federal Expropriation Act, objections to the expropriation itself can be asserted in the objection procedure. This also includes objections to the existence of the substantive legal requirements for an expropriation or the lack of a required special statutory approval. Since…