Federal Administrative Court
The Federal Administrative Court handles
appeals against rulings made by federal authorities. In
certain areas, it also reviews decisions made by cantonal authorities. The
court is composed of six divisions and the General Secretariat, which is responsible
for court administration.
Functions
The Federal
Administrative Court decides on appeals concerning the legality of rulings made
by the federal authorities. It therefore deals with a broad spectrum of legal
issues ranging from asylum law to customs. The court also examines complaints
against certain decisions made by cantonal governments such as those concerning
hospital lists. Finally, it delivers judgments on legal action in three
specific areas in the first instance, e.g. in cases involving public law
contracts.
Organisation
The Federal
Administrative Court, which is based in St. Gallen, is composed of six
divisions and the General Secretariat. Division I focuses on infrastructure,
taxes, federal employment and data protection; Division II on economics,
competition and education; Division III on social insurance and public health;
Divisions IV and V on asylum law; and Division VI on the law on foreign
nationals and citizenship.
Its judges
are elected by the United Federal Assembly. They perform their duties
independently and are bound only by the law.
With 74
judges and 355 employees, it is Switzerland’s largest federal court.
President: Marianne Ryter
Particularities
Own investigations
In the
event of a legal dispute, the Federal Administrative Court does not rely solely
on the facts established in the lower-court proceedings and the arguments of
the parties, but establishes the relevant facts of the case itself. Expert
opinions may be commissioned and preparatory hearings or inspections undertaken
in certain cases.
Partly
final
Each year,
the court renders an average of 7,500 decisions – mostly in writing – in
German, French and Italian. Most of its judgments are final.
7157 cases were closed in 2019