Act on Geographic Information (Cantonal Geographic Information Act, kGeoIG) - Subject Matter

1. This law governs the implementation of federal legislation concerning geoinformation and contains, in particular, provisions regarding

1. the operation of the geoinformation system;

2. the geographical names;

3. the cadastral register of public-law restrictions on property;

4. the official surveying.

2. It establishes independent cantonal law concerning cantonal and municipal geodata.

1. This Act aims to make geospatial data available to the authorities of the federal government, cantons, and municipalities, as well as to the economy, society, and science, for broad use in a sustainable, current, swift, and simple manner, in the required quality and at reasonable costs.

1. This Act applies to

1. the geobase data of federal law, which is processed by an office of the canton or the municipalities;

2. the geobase data of cantonal and municipal law as well as other geodata of the canton and the municipalities, insofar as other law does not prescribe otherwise.

1. The Executive Council may delegate the execution tasks of the canton in whole or in part to third parties and collaborate with other cantons.

2. In doing so, it is not bound by its constitutional financial authority.

1. To the extent that the cantonal geoinformation law does not contain any provisions, the regulations of the Geoinformation Act [3] and its implementing decrees, specifically Article 20 of the GeoIG as well as Articles 33 and 51 of the Ordinance on Geoinformation (Geoinformation Ordinance, GeoIV) [4], shall apply to the geodata of cantonal and communal law.

1. The Government Council exercises oversight over the implementation of geoinformation law.

1. The Directorate executes all tasks assigned to the Canton under the Geoinformation Law, insofar as they are not delegated to another authority.

1. The canton shall implement an electronic geoinformation system for the execution of geoinformation law; from this system, foundational geodata from the federation, canton, and municipalities, as well as additional geodata, can be obtained in electronic form.

1. The governing council determines under which conditions geodata of general interest can be included in the geographic information system by third parties.

2. There is no legal entitlement to the inclusion of geodata in the geographic information system.

3. Unlawful, privacy-violating, contrary to public morals, or excessively burdening data will be deleted from the geographic information system without compensation.

1. The Government Council shall establish the reporting procedures and the updating deadlines for the geographical information system in the implementation ordinance.

2. It may also subject private individuals to the reporting obligation.

1. The components of the geoinformation system are subject to an updating obligation.

2. They must be continuously updated, provided that a corresponding reporting system is organized. Otherwise, updates are to be carried out periodically.

1. Geospatial data is publicly accessible and may be used by any person, provided that

1. the cantonal legislation does not contain a differing provision; or

2. there are no overriding public or private interests opposing such use.

2. The Government Council shall designate the freely accessible geospatial base data under cantonal law and regulate for which geospatial data access, use, or dissemination may be denied, restricted, or made dependent on a consent procedure. It designates those cantonal geospatial data that are accessible via download or display services.

3. For the geospatial base data under municipal law and other geospatial data of the municipality, the municipal council shall make the corresponding determinations.

1. Cantons and municipalities may publish geospatial data that must be communicated to the public in the geoinformation system. Such publication is for informational purposes only.

1. The Government Council

1. Establishes in the execution ordinance the catalog of geospatial data under cantonal law as well as the corresponding types of access and authorizations;

2. Determines the authority responsible for deciding on access grants;

3. Designates the offices responsible for the collection, updating, and management of geospatial data under federal and cantonal law;

4. Designates the authority and procedure concerning the preparation of extracts and certifications;

5. Concludes an agreement with the Federation regarding the modalities and assessment of compensation payments in accordance with Art. 14 para. 3 GeoIG.

2. The Municipal Council establishes the catalog of geospatial data under municipal law as well as the corresponding types of access and authorizations; it designates the office responsible for the collection, updating, and management of geospatial data under municipal law.

3. The manner of archiving, the method and periodicity of historization, as well as the qualitative and technical requirements for geospatial data under cantonal and municipal law, shall conform mutatis mutandis to federal law, with competences determined by cantonal archiving legislation.

1. The Uniform Use of Geographical Names in Official Transactions and in All Information Carriers Must Comply with the Provisions of the Federal Ordinance on Geographical Names (GeoNV).

1. The Governing Council appoints a Nomenclature Commission as the cantonal expert body, consisting of five members, for the constitutionally prescribed term of office.

1. The authority responsible for official surveying forwards the geographic names it collects, updates, and manages to the Directorate.

2. The Directorate establishes the geographic names after consulting the affected political municipalities, the Nomenclature Commission, and, if applicable, the Federal Surveying Directorate.

3. The Directorate publishes the geographic names in the Official Gazette, indicating the possibility of objections during the 30-day display period, and makes the documents publicly available in the local municipalities during this period.

4. In individual cases, publication can be waived. Instead, the affected parties must be notified personally, with an indication of the possibility of objections for 30 days.

1. The Government Council regulates the organization of the Cadastre of Public-Law Restrictions on Landownership (PLR Cadastre) and designates the authority responsible for the cadastre.

2. In particular, it regulates

1. the inclusion of data in the cadastre, its maintenance, and the reporting system;

2. the creation, certification, and issuance of extracts.

3. The Government Council, based on Art. 16 para. 3 of the GeoIG [8], determines the additional legally binding geobase data of cantonal and municipal law that are subjects of the PLR Cadastre. The municipalities must be consulted in advance regarding the determination of municipal data.

1. Liability towards bona fide third parties for maintaining the cadastre is governed by federal law.

2. The canton has a right of recourse against the data providers insofar as the damage was caused by incorrect or delayed data delivery.

1. The minimum content of the official survey is determined by federal law.

2. In addition to the data from the official survey, easement boundaries are also depicted in the plan for the land register, provided that they are clearly defined in terms of their location. Article 732, paragraph 2 of the Swiss Civil Code remains reserved.

3. Within the budget framework, the Government Council may expand the content of the official survey prescribed by federal law in accordance with federal guidelines and impose additional requirements on the survey.

1. The plan for the land register contains the information required by federal law, as well as the easements and extensions in accordance with Article 20 paragraphs 2 and 3.

**1. The Government Council:**

1. approves the data of the official survey in accordance with Art. 29 VAV;

2. elects the revision surveyor and regulates their rights and obligations in a contract;

3. regulates the coordination between the revision surveyors and the land registry office;

4. agrees with the railway companies on compensation for services provided under Art. 46 VAV.

**2.** It elects the cantonal surveyor. For this purpose, it may conclude agreements with the federal government, other cantons, or private parties.

1. The Cantonal Geometer shall perform the tasks of surveying supervision in accordance with federal legislation and has the following duties in particular

1. Directing, monitoring, and verifying the work of official surveying;

2. Coordinating official surveying with the geographic information system and other surveying projects;

3. Ensuring the implementation of official surveying according to the surveying program.

1. The Cadastral Surveyor has the following duties in particular

1. To ensure the condition and quality of the data of the official survey. Until the updated or periodically revised data has been received by the cadastral surveyor, the licensed engineer-surveyor appointed for this task is responsible.

2. To continually update and maintain the data of the official survey for each municipality;

3. To ensure access to the data of the official survey in accordance with Art. 36 of the VAV (official survey interface);

4. To input the results of the renewal as well as the ongoing and periodic updates into the geoinformation system;

5. The maintenance of

a) the fixed point and boundary markers;

b) the basic datasets of the official survey;

c) the cadastral plan and other extracts produced for the purpose of land registry maintenance from the basic dataset;

d) the extracts and documentation to be prepared in accordance with Art. 64 of the Swiss technical ordinance on official surveying (TVAV).

1. The canton delegates the management of the geographical information system to the mixed-economy joint-stock company GIS Daten AG, which is based in the canton, and participates in it.

2. GIS Daten AG has the following specific tasks

1. to complete and maintain the geographical information system;

2. to provide access to geographical data and to create extracts and evaluations of it.

3. It may engage in commercial activities.

1. Property owners are required to tolerate activities related to official surveying.

2. They are specifically obliged to

1. Grant access to their property to individuals authorized to conduct the boundary marking and surveying;

2. Accept, without compensation, unavoidable damages caused by boundary marking and surveying activities;

3. Permit, without charge, the installation and maintenance of survey markers and boundary markers on their property and ensure they remain unaltered.

3. Significant permanent damages are compensated according to the principles of expropriation law.

1. The procedure and jurisdiction for the establishment and adjustment of municipal boundaries are governed by the Act on the Organization and Administration of Municipalities (Municipality Act, GemG).

2. The government council may agree on the adjustment of the cantonal boundary with other cantons. Approval from the cantonal parliament, as well as the consent of the Federal Council and the municipality, remains reserved.

1. The boundaries of properties and spatially demarcated independent and permanent rights are generally determined on-site by the appointed cadastral surveyor in the presence of the affected property owners.

2. In the cases of Art. 13 para. 2 of the Ordinance on Land Survey (VAV), the boundaries may be determined based on plans, aerial photographs, or other suitable resources without a field inspection.

1. Landowners and holders of independent and permanent rights that are to be marked must participate in the marking process and provide the necessary information.

2. The marking process cannot be independently contested. Legal action in civil court is reserved.

1. If the boundaries are determined, boundary markers are generally to be installed at the boundary points, the type of which is determined by the cantonal surveyor.

2. In addition to the case of application according to Art. 17 para. 1 VAV, it is generally to be refrained from installing boundary markers

1. in areas where properties as well as spatially designated independent and permanent rights would need to be consolidated;

2. for properties as well as spatially designated independent and permanent rights on which the boundary markers are permanently endangered by agricultural use or other impacts;

3. in agricultural and forestry areas in the mountain and summer pasture areas according to the agricultural production register, as well as in unproductive areas.

3. The cadastral surveyor is obliged to replace disappeared or damaged boundary markers ex officio, provided that their installation cannot be waived.

1. The renewal of the official surveying can be carried out in stages.

2. Within the framework of federal law and the agreed surveying programs, the government council determines the content of the individual stages.

1. The Cantonal Surveyor examines all components of the official surveying in accordance with federal law requirements.

2. Deficiencies must be rectified by the Maintenance Surveyor. As far as property owners are affected in their rights, their consent is required.

3. After rectifying the deficiencies, the Cantonal Surveyor submits the surveying work to the federal government for preliminary review based on Article 27 of the Regulation on Official Surveying (VAV).

1. Upon completion of the renewal of the official survey or the resolution of conflicts pursuant to Art. 14a VAV, where property owners are affected in their real property rights, the plan for the land register of the relevant perimeter and other extracts compiled for the purpose of land registration from the data of the official survey shall be publicly displayed at the Directorate for 30 days.

2. The public display shall be officially announced with a reference to the possibility of lodging an objection during the display period.

3. The public display can be waived if all affected property owners and other individuals with real property rights over the land have given their written consent to the renewal or resolution of conflicts.

1. Property owners, whose addresses are known, shall additionally be informed by the Directorate through regular mail about the public display and the legal remedies available to them.

2. This notification shall contain at least

1. the parcel numbers;

2. a reference to the public plan display along with the display period;

3. an instruction on legal remedies, accompanied by the indication that the survey shall become legally binding if no objection is raised during the display period.

3. Upon request, property owners will be provided with an excerpt copy from the plan for the land register.

1. During the objection period, affected property owners may file a written and substantiated objection to the survey with the Directorate.

1. The approval of the data from the official survey and the extracts derived from it is governed by Art. 29 VAV.

2. The recognition of the surveying work by the federal government is governed by Art. 30 VAV.

1. The Government Council determines the timing, scope, and area of the periodic updating of official surveying within the framework of Art. 24 VAV.

1. Updates pursuant to Art. 25 para. 1 VAV are based on mutation documents, which are generally prepared as a result of the preceding demarcation and measurement of the new boundary points.

2. In the case of preceding project mutations, the boundaries must be adjusted by the updating geomatician to the actual circumstances.

3. Mutation documents lose their validity if they are not submitted to the land registry office for registration within one year from their creation.

4. The parties bear the associated costs, particularly the costs of restoring the previous condition. The deadline for submission to the land registry office may be extended by the land registrar upon a justified request.

5. Furthermore, the government council regulates the business dealings between the updating geomatician and the land registry office in the implementation ordinance.

1. The canton shall bear the costs for

1. the execution of the official survey;

2. the maintenance of the cadastre of public-law restrictions on property ownership;

3. the establishment and operation of the geoinformation system.

2. The costs for the preparation, updating, historization, and archiving of geobase data and the data of the cadastre of public-law restrictions on property ownership shall be borne by the community or entity responsible for the respective data.

3. Third parties shall bear the costs for the inclusion of their geodata in the geoinformation system pursuant to Art. 9.

1. Access to the geospatial data of the geographic information system and to the data in the cadastre of public-law property restrictions is subject to fees.

2. Electronic access to publicly accessible geodata is free of charge.

3. Cantonal and municipal authorities, their independent public-law corporations and institutions, as well as private third parties, who have been entrusted with fulfilling statutory duties of the canton or municipalities, are exempt from the usage fee.

4. The cantonal government and GIS Data AG may enter into flat-rate agreements with economically significant interested parties, such as banks, insurance companies, and similar entities, regarding the use of data from the cadastre of public-law property restrictions or the geographic information system.

1. Fees are determined according to the principles of Art. 15 (2) and (3) GeoIG and Arts. 44-47 GeoIV.

2. The fee schedule of GIS Data AG requires approval by the Governing Council and must be published.

3. Fees for services not listed in the schedule are to be calculated based on the time spent. The guideline for the hourly rate is the cantonal fee schedule for engineers.

1. The costs of marketing shall be borne by the landowners.

2. The costs for replacing missing or damaged boundary markers shall be charged to the party responsible.

3. The costs for the renewal and periodic updating of the official survey, remaining after the deduction of federal contributions, shall be borne by the canton.

1. The costs of the ongoing updating of the official survey shall be borne by the parties responsible.

2. The non-transferable costs of the updating, which remain after deduction of federal contributions, shall be borne by the canton.

1. The Government Council promotes education and research in the field of geoinformation with contributions, within the framework of the approved credits.

1. The Government Council and the Municipal Council may authorize their administrative offices and any private third parties they have commissioned to commercially offer their geodata and other services in the field of geoinformation, in accordance with the principles of Art. 19 GeoIG.

1. Data protection is governed, subject to the Geoinformation Legislation, by the Law on Data Protection (Cantonal Data Protection Act, kDSG).

1. A fine shall be imposed on anyone who intentionally

1. unlawfully gains access to geodata for themselves or a third party;

2. violates the reporting obligation pursuant to Art. 10;

3. uses or disseminates consent-required geodata according to Art. 12 without consent;

4. uses geoservices without consent;

5. misuses excerpts as defined in Art. 25 para. 2 no. 2;

6. violates the obligation to tolerate pursuant to Art. 26;

7. violates the duty to cooperate pursuant to Art. 29.

1. The Executive Council shall issue the provisions necessary for the implementation of this law, particularly the fee schedule.

1. The Act of 24 April 1988 on Spatial Planning and Public Building Law (Building Act) is amended as follows: ...

1. The following ordinances are repealed

1. Ordinance of 22 May 1996 on Official Surveying and the National Information System (Surveying Ordinance);

2. Ordinance of 20 May 1987 on the Collection and Spelling of Local Names (Nomenclature Ordinance).

1. This law is subject to an optional referendum.

2. The government council determines the date of enactment.