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BGE 5 I 6 ΓÇó Domicile and standing in guardianship dispute
BGE 5 I 6Amtliche Sammlung des Bundesgerichts (BGE) / Band I15.02.1878Dismissed
Joh. Widmer, a citizen of Stein but domiciled in St. Gallen, challenged his placement under official guardianship by his home municipality. The Federal Court held that Art. 46 BV could not yet be invoked because its application depended on later federal legislation and the transitional provisions. It further held that any complaint alleging an infringement of St. Gallen’s sovereignty could only be brought by the canton itself, not by Widmer. The complaint was dismissed.
Art. 46 BV; Art. 2 der Uebergangsbestimmungen; domicile principle and standing to complain of cantonal sovereignty. The domicile rule of Art. 46 BV was not yet directly applicable absent the implementing federal legislation foreseen by the Constitution; until such legislation, no individual may derive a justiciable claim from that provision. A complaint alleging encroachment upon a canton’s sovereignty is reserved to the affected canton itself; a private party lacks standing to invoke such a public-law grievance.