Cavigelli should be held liable for lies about the special hunt

In February 2015, the Grand Council of Grisons declared the special hunt initiative invalid.

However, important information had been withheld from parliament during the debate. Government Councillor Mario Cavigelli (CVP) had not disclosed that the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) in Bern had determined that the initiative did NOT violate higher-level law.

It has now been nearly one and a half years since the electorate rejected the special hunt initiative with just over 54% voting against it. However, the matter is far from settled: the Federal Supreme Court will — once again — be dealing with the popular initiative and its consequences. This follows the initiators appealing a ruling by the Grisons Administrative Court to Switzerland's highest court.

Co-initiator Christian Mathis confirmed a corresponding report by Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR) upon request.

Outraged by the “detour”

The authors of the special hunt initiative had already once gone to the Federal Supreme Court — successfully. In November 2017, the court ruled that the initiative should not have been declared invalid by the Grand Council. This very ruling is also connected to the current case: at issue is approximately 113’000 francs which, according to the initiators, the first round before the Federal Supreme Court cost them. The initiators want this money back from the canton.

Their argument: the detour via the Federal Supreme Court would not have been necessary had Government CouncillorMario Cavigelli not concealed a letter from the Federal Office for the Environment from the Grand Council. In the letter, the Federal Office had assessed the initiative as valid.

Co-initiator Mathis remains convinced to this day that the Grand Council would have declared the initiative valid had it known about the Federal Office for the Environment’s letter. “By withholding the letter, Cantonal Councillor Cavigelli caused us additional costs», said Mathis yesterday. «It still makes me angry that a cantonal councillor is allowed to behave like that.» He has "nothing good to say" about Cavigelli,nothing good to say», writes the Südostschweiz.

Cantonal Councillor Mario Cavigelli has caused the initiative committee, taxpayers, and others a great deal of aggravation, inconvenience, and expense, and has wilfully deceived the entire population. He should be held accountable for this — not the taxpayers! There is no doubt that Cantonal Councillor Mario Cavigelli (CVP) has lied to everyone time and time again.

Doubts about the Administrative Court

According to RTR, however, the Administrative Court of Graubünden rejected the demand of the initiators with the finding that Cavigelli had not acted unlawfully. The ruling from Chur does not particularly impress Mathis. «The Administrative Court will certainly not stab the government in the back», he said. He therefore wants the Federal Court to clarify whether Cavigelli actually behaved correctly.