Press releases 2018

13.12.2018

Sexual harassment: FAC supports SBB’s decision

The Federal Administrative Court (FAC) supports a decision of the Swiss Federal Railways SBB in a case of sexual harassment. The court supports a settlement in the amount of a median wage, but denies other claims for further compensation, especially bullying.

07.12.2018

Climate Seniors Association defeated in court

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has dismissed the complaint by the Climate Seniors Association, ruling that the women of the association are not affected by the government’s climate change mitigation measures in any particular way that goes beyond the impact on the general public.

22.11.2018

New SBB trains: at least one ramp to have a certain incline, standard stipulates

According to a decision by the Swiss Federal Administrative Court, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) must ensure that every new-built long-distance train has at least one ramp for boarding and disembarking that does not exceed a gradient of 15 per cent.

10.10.2018

No participation in fees for Radio Central

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court is rejecting Radio Central’s complaint against the Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. The private radio station demanded a licence for the participation in fees.

05.10.2018

Residence permit of Chechen national rejected

The Federal Administrative Court rejected the request for a residence permit by a Chechen student due to his improper conduct when trying to extend his stay in Switzerland.

05.10.2018

Decision to reject asylum application of man with links to PKK ruled fair

The Federal Administrative Court has upheld the decision by the State Secretariat for Migration to refuse the asylum application of a Turkish national of Kurdish ethnicity on the grounds that he was unworthy of asylum. As a suspected member of “Komalên Ciwan”, a clandestine sub-organisation of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), the man in question has been deemed to endanger Switzerland’s internal or external security.

28.09.2018

“Sympto” app considered to be a medical device

An app designed to measure the fertility of the woman using it by analysing personal data is considered to be a medical device, and must be evaluated in order to make sure that it conforms to the necessary standards before being sold in Switzerland, the Federal Administrative Court (FAC) has ruled.

25.09.2018

Minimum case numbers for surgeons ruled lawful

The Federal Administrative Court has upheld the decision by the Government Council of the Canton of Zurich to stipulate minimum case numbers for certain surgical procedures. These numbers are intended to serve quality assurance purposes and may be introduced with effect from 1 January 2019.

19.09.2018

TV broadcasters without right of appeal for catch-up TV

TV broadcasters have no right to appeal the tariff of compensation for time-shift television negotiated by the collective rights management organisations and associations of users...

13.09.2018

Nuclear installations: safety margin is lawful

The safety margin of 30 per cent on the payments which the owners of nuclear installations must contribute to the Decommissioning Fund and the Disposal Fund, introduced by the Federal Council in 2015, is lawful. This is the conclusion the Federal Administrative Court has come to, rejecting the appeal filed against it.

08.08.2018

Change of practice regarding family reunion

The right to family reunion derived from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) does not expire when the child who could benefit from it reaches the age of majority during the procedure. This easing of the case law, which takes into account recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, also has procedural implications.

31.07.2018

France to be denied administrative assistance in tax matters regarding lists of account numbers

A request for administrative assistance submitted by the French tax authorities based on lists of several thousand account numbers of people ostensibly resident in France for tax purposes does not fulfil the requirements of a permissible administrative assistance request. The Swiss Federal Administrative Court (FAC) has concluded that no administrative assistance may be given.

26.07.2018

Cartel sanctions against Aargau-based building companies confirmed

The Federal Administrative Court confirmed, in essence, the contested cartel sanctions imposed by the Competition Commission against building companies from the canton of Aargau. It reduced the amount of the sanctions from approximately CHF 2.8 million to approximately CHF 1.9 million. The judgments shed light on important questions of principle, in particular with regard to the competition law assessment of agreements relating to public and private procurement.

19.07.2018

Ambassador of the Mapuche Permanent Mission to the UN denied asylum for the second time

The Federal Administrative Court (FAC) confirms that the Mapuche population in Chile are not subject to collective persecution and negates the existence of a risk of targeted persecution against the appellant.

18.07.2018

Claims of two private bankers regarding state liability passed to the Federal Criminal Court

Two private bankers are demanding compensation running into millions of francs from the Swiss government. They are accusing both the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland and the banking supervisor of unlawful conduct. The Federal Administrative Court is passing some of the demands for compensation to the Federal Criminal Court and is dismissing the rest.

12.07.2018

Asylum: another court decision on citizens to be returned to Eritrea

Eritrean citizens whose applications for asylum have been rejected can be deported back to their home country even if they face being called up for national service there. Deportation in this case is both lawful and reasonable, which the Federal Administrative Court has confirmed in its judgment of 10 July 2018.

28.06.2018

Import ban on “Oden’s Chewing Tobacco” upheld

“Oden’s Chewing Tobacco 10 Extreme White” is a tobacco product for oral use. It falls under the import ban in accordance with the Swiss Tobacco Ordinance due to its characteristics and the way it is used. This is the decision reached by the Swiss Federal Administrative Court.

18.05.2018

ProLitteris: Too high pension fund contributions

The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property correctly ordered the copyright collective ProLitteris to partially reclaim supplementary wage payments made to three members of the management. This is the decision of the Federal Administrative Court.

15.05.2018

Judges inspect the new SBB double-deck train

Judges of the Federal Administrative Court inspected a new double-deck train of the SBB at the Romanshorn train station on the afternoon of Tuesday, 15 May 2018. With the presence of nine persons with disabilities, they got an idea of the objections stated in a standing FV-Dosto train.

03.05.2018

Poststelle oder Agentur? Die Post entscheidet endgültig

Der Entscheid der Post, eine Poststelle in eine Agentur umzuwandeln, kann nicht vor Gericht angefochten werden. Vorliegend hat das Bundesverwaltungsgericht den rechtlichen Streit um die Poststelle der Tessiner Gemeinde Balerna entschieden.