Ordinance on the Alpine Pasture Register in the Land Register - Principle

1. The authority responsible for land registry maintains an Alpine register for alp lands and pastures owned by

a) the Canton of Appenzell I.Rh. with independent share rights of third parties (Common Alps) or

b) alp cooperatives with independent share rights.

1. Stakeholding Rights (Hüttenrechte) are legally equated with real estate in the sense of Art. 655 para. 2 no. 2 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB). The stakeholding rights include

a) proportional usage rights (fractions of the total use of the alpine pasture) in accordance with the Alpine Pasture Law of April 30, 1995, in a communal alpine pasture;

b) usage rights according to the statutes of the Alpine Cooperatives to a specific private alpine pasture based on the allocated number of units (1 unit = 1 cow right);

c) rights as the owner to construct and operate agricultural buildings (alpine hut, stable buildings, etc.).

2. The sale of stakeholding rights and the establishment of limited real rights in them require registration in the Alpine Register for their validity.

3. If stakeholding rights are pledged, the Alpine Cooperative may only pledge the real estate with the permission of the Cantonal Commission. This permission can particularly be granted if the pledge is for the purpose of land improvements or for the construction and improvement of buildings and roads.

4. Contracts regarding the purchase, exchange, donation, or pledge of stakeholding rights, the establishment of a usufruct right in them, and the establishment of a purchase or repurchase right require public authentication by the land registry officer.

5. The provisions of the Federal Law on Rural Land Rights of October 4, 1991 (BGBB) apply mutatis mutandis to the stakeholding rights.

1. The authority responsible for land registry matters shall establish and maintain an alp register regarding share rights.

2. The alp register is an integral part of the land register. It may be maintained on paper or via electronic data processing (EDP land register).

3. The following must be entered in the alp register

a) the proportional usage rights and the associated structures (alp huts, barns, etc.);

b) the ownership of the share rights;

c) the liens on the share rights;

d) the usufruct rights.

4. Other servitudes than usufruct rights cannot be established on share rights.

1. Upon the enactment of this regulation, the Canton of Appenzell I.Rh. (Communal Alps) or the Alpine Association (Private Alps) must be registered as the owner of the real estate (principal property) in the land register within 12 months, and the main registry entries regarding the extent of the share rights must be created.

2. In the land register, there must be a reference to the existence and extent of share rights in accordance with the statutes or the regulation concerning the Communal Alps (Alpbüchlein) dated February 12, 1996.

3. The administrations of the Alpine Associations are obliged to immediately make a written notification to the authority responsible for the land registry of any change in share rights registered with them. An approved resolution of the assembly must be submitted.

4. The Department of Agriculture and Forestry is obliged to immediately notify the authority responsible for the land registry in writing of any possible change in the permissible stocking rates as per Art. 2 Para. 1 of the Alpbüchlein. The relevant decision of the Great Council must be submitted to the authority responsible for the land registry.

1. The authority responsible for land registry matters shall issue a public call in the official publication organ within six months of the entry into force of this regulation, in which

a) the Canton of Appenzell I.Rh. and the alpine cooperatives are requested to submit the approved and legally valid statutes and minutes, as well as the membership register and other relevant documents to the authority responsible for land registry matters;

b) holders of share rights and other persons whose entitlements are not evident from the documents of the Canton of Appenzell I.Rh. or the alpine cooperative are requested to assert their rights for entry into the main register sheets of share rights.

2. The submission deadline is one month from the date of publication.

**1. The Authority Responsible for Land Registry Matters**

The authority responsible for land registry matters resolves requests regarding the Common Alps in conjunction with the head of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry and, regarding the Private Alps, with the board of the concerned Alpine cooperative, in accordance with Article 5 of this ordinance.

**2. Dispute Resolution Procedures**

If the parties involved (the affected co-ownership rights owner and the board of the Alpine cooperative) cannot reach an amicable agreement, the authority responsible for land registry matters will set a deadline of 30 days for filing a complaint with the civil court. Typically, the court will assign the role of plaintiff to

a) the claimant asserting a right not recorded in the land register or seeking an amendment to an entry;

b) the party contesting a right recorded in the land register in whole or in part.

**3. Notification of Resolved Disputes**

Upon resolution of the disputed cases, the head of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, with respect to the Common Alps, and the board of the Alpine cooperative, with respect to the Private Alps, will report the register of co-ownership rights owners, as well as the rights and encumbrances associated with those ownership rights, for land registry processing.

1. Concerning the adjusted share rights and per main property, the authority responsible for the land register management shall establish a main register sheet (alpine register).

1. The sheets concerning the shareholder rights are to be established as main ledger sheets (Art. 945 para. 1 of the Swiss Civil Code). They contain

a) the designation of the owner;

b) the type of ownership (property description): extent of the shareholder rights (communal Alps), number of boundaries (private Alps), buildings with building numbers;

c) the type of acquisition;

d) the usufructuary rights;

e) the mortgage rights.

2. The main ledger sheets concerning the shareholder rights are to be numbered. They must include a reference to the primary property. The main ledger sheets of the primary properties must additionally include

a) the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden for the communal Alps or the name and the seat of the Alpine cooperative (private Alp);

b) the date of the entry into force of the main ledger sheets of the shareholder rights;

c) the total number of shareholder rights (boundaries).

1. The completion of the adjustment works shall be published for inspection in the official publication organ.

2. The period for inspection, as referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, is one month.

3. Within this period, objections to the entries on the main ledger sheets can be submitted in writing to the authority responsible for land register matters. The objections shall be resolved in accordance with the corresponding application of Article 6 of this ordinance.

1. After resolving any objections, the office responsible for land registry matters submits the main register sheets concerning the share rights to the commission of dignitaries for examination.

2. Based on the verification conducted, the commission of dignitaries enacts the main register sheets concerning the share rights and reports them for registration in the land register.

3. The office responsible for land registry matters publishes the enactment in the official publication organ.

1. No fees shall be charged for the initial creation of the main ledger sheets concerning share rights.

1. The provisions regarding the management of the federal land register shall apply mutatis mutandis to the management of the main ledger sheets concerning share rights.

2. The State Commission may issue supplementary instructions.

1. The documents pertaining to the maintenance of the main ledger sheets regarding share rights are considered as land register documents.

1. The fees for maintaining the principal ledger sheets concerning the share rights are determined in accordance with the Ordinance on the Fees of the Cantonal Administration (GebV).

1. This ordinance shall enter into force upon adoption by the Grand Council, subject to approval by the Federal Government.