Facts
X. was involved in an accident with a deer on 17 February 1996 as the driver of a vehicle. Following this accident, the game warden intervened and drew up a report. On 6 March 1996, the Hunting and Fishing Service of the Canton of Grisons invoiced X. for costs of 124 francs. After non-payment of this invoice, the Department of Construction, Transport and Forests of the Canton of Grisons issued a decision on 10 July 1996 imposing on X. the amount of 124 francs, as well as a reminder fee of 20 francs and costs of 84 francs. X. appealed against this decision to the Government of the Canton of Grisons, which rejected his appeal on 24 September 1996.
X. filed a public law appeal with the Federal Tribunal, alleging a violation of Art. 4 Cst. (formal denial of justice; lack of legal basis for contributions). The Government of the Canton of Grisons concluded that the appeal should be dismissed.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal upheld the appeal, considering that Arts. 36 and 40 of the Cantonal Act on Administrative and Constitutional Procedure (VVG/GR) do not constitute a sufficiently precise legal basis for levying fees outside a formal decision-making procedure. The term "official act" is indeed extremely broad and can include any administrative activity, including outside a decision-making procedure. Similarly, the notion of "parties involved" is very vague and can encompass an indeterminate number of persons.
Although the principles of cost coverage and…