Facts
The complainants, [X.] , [Y.] and [Z.] , were fined by the municipality of Vaz/Obervaz with a penal order of 24 February 2011 for violating the communal building code. The construction fines amounted to CHF 20,000.-- for [X.] , CHF 5,000.-- for [Y.] and CHF 30,000.-- for [Z.] . The complainants had built a holiday home in Vaz/Obervaz without obtaining the required building permits. The municipality had informed the complainants by letter of 28 July 2006 that the shell construction had not been carried out in accordance with the permit and that there were formal and material building law violations.
The complainants appealed to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Grisons, which dismissed the appeals with judgments of 15 November 2011. The complainants then appealed to the Federal Court and requested the annulment of the contested decisions.
Considerations
The Federal Court partially upheld the appeals and annulled the contested judgments of 15 November 2011, insofar as court costs had been imposed on the complainants. Otherwise, the appeals were dismissed.
The Federal Court found that the municipality of Vaz/Obervaz had not given the complainants the opportunity to comment, in particular on the impending sanction, before issuing the penal order of 24 February 2011. This constitutes a violation of the right to be heard. However, the Federal Court also found that this violation had been cured in the previous…