Facts
The appellants (two private individuals) appealed to the Federal Supreme Court against the judgment of the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zug, Administrative Law Division, dated 18 December 2018 (V 2017 59). In that judgment, the Administrative Court had in principle upheld the building permit granted to [C. AG] for the construction of a temporary asylum settlement on the 'Obermüli Süd' site in the municipality of Baar. The appellants had been unsuccessful on the merits before the Administrative Court and lodged their appeal with the Federal Supreme Court on 13 February 2019.
By submission of 16 July 2019, the Municipal Council of Baar informed the Federal Supreme Court that the respondent ([C. AG] ) had withdrawn the building application which was the subject of the proceedings, and filed the withdrawal letter in original.
Subject matter of the dispute/main question: As a result of the withdrawal of the building application, the proceedings before the Federal Supreme Court have become moot; the question to be decided was how the court costs and party compensation are to be allocated.
Considerations
Where proceedings become moot, the Federal Supreme Court decides on the court costs in summary reasoning under Art. 71 FSCA in conjunction with Art. 72 FCPA, based on the situation prevailing before the event that ended the proceedings. The decisive factor is primarily the likely outcome of the proceedings (cf. BGE 125 V 373 E. 2a).
The party that caused the proceedings to become moot, or in whose sphere the circumstances leading to the mootness arose, is primarily liable for costs and compensation (judgment 2C_201/2008 of 14 July 2008 E.…