Facts
This decision concerns a dispute between the expropriated parties (Wieser et al.) and the Nordostschweizerische Kraftwerke AG (NOK), the expropriating authority. The Federal Tribunal was seized with a request from the expropriated parties to obtain an oral hearing and an additional deadline to complete their memorial. The expropriated parties also contested the extent of the expropriation, arguing that they were suffering additional damage due to the depreciation of the value of their plots as a result of the possibility of future construction under the power lines.
The Federal Tribunal rejected the request for an oral hearing and an additional deadline, considering that it was not an appeal against the draft decision, but a simple declaration producing procedural effects. Regarding the extent of the expropriation, the Tribunal ruled that the expropriated parties had not filed a valid request for extension of the expropriation within the deadlines provided for in Arts. 12 and 36(b) of the Federal Expropriation Act (LEx).
Considerations
According to the case law of the Federal Tribunal, the authority granting the expropriation permit determines, in principle, the nature, extent and content of the expropriated right (Art. 3 LEx, Art. 50 Electricity Act). In this case, the Federal Council authorized NOK to acquire the rights necessary for the installation and operation of the line, but not a right to prohibit construction within the line's right-of-way.
The expropriated parties did indeed argue that they were suffering additional damage due to the depreciation of the value of their plots as a result of the possibility of future construction under the power lines. However, by…