Fines for Failure to Appear at Conciliation Proceedings

Facts

A.A. and B.A. are landlords of a property in Basel. They failed to appear at five proceedings before the State Conciliation Board for Tenancy Disputes. The Conciliation Board subsequently imposed a fine of 200 Swiss francs each on them under Art. 128 CPC. A.A. and B.A. appealed these rulings to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed their appeals. They then filed a civil law appeal to the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court upholds the appeal and sets aside the contested decision. It states that while the conciliation authority is generally entitled to impose fines under Art. 128 CPC, this is only possible under certain conditions. On the one hand, the failure to appear must constitute a disruption of the proceedings in accordance with Art. 128(1) CPC or vexatious litigation under Art. 128(3) CPC. On the other hand, the party must have been previously informed of the possible disciplinary consequences of their conduct.

In the present case, the findings of fact did not show that the appellants had been informed by the Conciliation…