Art. 128 Introductory Act to the Swiss Civil Code (EGzZGB) - IV. Public Purpose

1. The use of common land rights shall, where they exist, be exercised in such a manner that the burden on the affected land complexes is distributed as evenly as possible. The mode of operation shall not be unjustly extended by any individual through a change in methods. The municipality is responsible for issuing the regulations necessary for the implementation of these principles.

2. The redemption of common land rights on private properties is guaranteed.

3. Each municipality may decide on the purchase of freedom from common rights for its area or, where special reasons exist, for only a part of it. As long as the general purchase has not been completed, it is the responsibility of those who have purchased freedom to protect their relieved lands by fencing or herding against general grazing.

4. Owners whose properties have been released from common land rights can be excluded by the municipality from participating in grazing with the portion of their livestock that corresponds to the reduction of the land subject to grazing due to the redemption.

5. In municipalities where the common land rights serve the public good, they can be introduced with the approval of the government, unless and insofar as they have not been abolished or redeemed through purchase. The government's decision is final. The introduction can only be decided with the consent of two-thirds of all landowners who own at least two-thirds of the land subject to grazing.