Facts
The case concerns the alienation of a property located in Mels, in the canton of Saint-Gall, which was sold to Gottfried Hobi, a construction entrepreneur, for 93,000 Swiss francs. The public economy department of the canton of Saint-Gall refused the sale authorization, considering that the buyer had speculative intentions. The seller, the heir of Hans John, requested the sale authorization, arguing that the 10-year prohibition period provided for in Article 218 of the Code of Obligations (CO) had already expired.
The public economy department rejected the request, considering that the prohibition period had started to run from the date of entry into force of the law on the protection of agricultural land. The buyer, Gottfried Hobi, filed an appeal with the Federal Court, requesting the annulment of the decision of the public economy department and the authorization to sell the property.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of whether the 10-year prohibition period provided for in Article 218 CO applied to the sale of the property. It considered that the question of whether the prohibition period had expired or not was a question of application of Article 218 CO, and not of Article 218 bis CO, which concerns exceptions to the prohibition period.
The Federal Court also examined the question of the buyer's standing to file an appeal. It considered that the buyer, Gottfried Hobi, had standing to file an appeal, as he was directly concerned by the decision of the public economy department.
The Federal Court…