Dismissal of the appeal against the deportation order

Facts

The plaintiff, [B.] , is a Swiss citizen and has his domicile in the canton of Zurich. He acquired a plot of land with a single-family house in Buchs, canton of Zurich, by purchase contract of 12 November 1998, at a purchase price of Fr. 1'650'000.--. He rented out this house including garage by contract of 22 September 1999 for a monthly rent of Fr. 5'500.-- to the defendant, [A.] .

In the course of investigations by the city police of Zurich, indications emerged that [B.] had acquired the property as a straw man for a Russian citizen living in Moscow. Thereupon, [B.] was requested by the district council of Dielsdorf with decision of 4 February 2000 to submit an application for acquisition of land pursuant to the Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad (ANRA).

The defendant, [A.] , was ordered by the single judge in the summary proceedings of the district of Dielsdorf with decision of 21 June 2002 to vacate the rented house immediately and to leave it in a cleaned condition, under threat of enforcement in case of non-compliance. The defendant appealed to the High Court of the canton of Zurich, which dismissed the appeal with decision of 10 December 2002, confirmed the contested decision, and renewed the deportation order.

Considerations

The Federal Court has dismissed the defendant's appeal in its judgment of 22 April 2003. The main obligation of the landlord consists in making a thing available to the tenant for use, and the tenant, in paying rent to the landlord (Art. 253 CO). The handover of the rented property by the landlord to the tenant based on the rental agreement establishes an obligatory claim of the landlord to recover the rented property in the event of valid termination of the rental agreement.

The ANRA aims to prevent the foreign domination of domestic soil. It is intended to ensure that the soil is primarily reserved for the inhabitants of Switzerland and that the extent of foreign property ownership is stabilized at a sustainable level in the long term. The mere possession of the plaintiff of the rented property is…