Hunting Ordinance: Waiver of Consultation
The Federal Department of the Environment does not have the authority to rule on a so-called declaratory request in connection with the consultation process that was not carried out regarding the partial revision of the Hunting Ordinance. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court in a ruling published on Monday.
Denial of Justice by the DETEC
However, it upheld the complaint of a critic of this procedure on one point.
The Federal Office for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) should have issued a ruling stating that it lacked jurisdiction and was therefore not entering into the request for a declaratory ruling. By failing to do so, it committed a denial of justice.
On clear positions
In November 2023, the woman approached DETEC with a request to establish various points in a ruling. Among other things, the department was asked to confirm that no proper consultation procedure had taken place during the partial revision of the Hunting Ordinance on the regulation of wolves and ibex.
The Federal Administrative Court notes in its deliberations that the Federal Council is fundamentally responsible for initiating a consultation procedure. It is within its discretion to waive a consultation. This is permissible if no new findings are to be expected because the positions of interested parties are already established.
Declaratory rulings
Acts of the Federal Council cannot be challenged, and in this case there is no exception to this principle. DETEC is neither competent to assess the request, nor does it have the necessary ruling authority.
Furthermore, according to the Federal Administrative Court, declaratory orders relate to the rights and obligations of a specific person arising from a specific set of facts. The appellant, however, was demanding abstract judicial review of norms, independent of any concrete application of a provision.
The ruling can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.(Ruling A-6585/2023 of 19.4.2024)
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