Facts
This case involves a conflict of competence between the child and adult protection authorities (KESB) of the cantons of Schwyz and St. Gallen regarding the jurisdiction for child protection measures for A., born in 2017. The canton of Schwyz filed a lawsuit against the canton of St. Gallen with the aim that the latter be responsible for the establishment and management of the guardianship over A. The Federal Supreme Court did not enter into the lawsuit, as the legally prescribed requirements were not met.Considerations
According to Art. 444 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), the KESB must first exchange views with each other in case of doubts about their jurisdiction in order to reach an agreement. Only if this fails can the authority first seized submit the question of its jurisdiction to the judicial appeal instance. However, the Administrative Court of the Canton of Schwyz had rejected this, as according to BGE 141 III 84 it is not authorized to definitively determine the jurisdiction of an out-of-canton KESB.
The Federal Supreme Court clarified that the Administrative Court must indeed decide on the jurisdiction of the KESB [U.] (Canton of Schwyz), as this follows directly from the wording of Art. 444 para. 4 ZGB. However, it is disputed whether the appeal instance can also definitively determine the jurisdiction of an…