Facts
The Federal Court decided that X. SA as a bank does not have the right to appeal in the present mutual legal assistance proceedings. The bank was not directly and personally affected by the ordered mutual legal assistance measures, which concerned the release of documents on the accounts of certain persons and the examination of bank employees about the relationships of these persons to the bank. Rather, the bank's customers, whose accounts the documents related to, were the directly affected parties.
The Federal Court stated that according to the revised legal situation in the Mutual Assistance Act (IMAC), the right to appeal is clearly and narrowly defined. In addition to the Federal Office of Justice, only those who are directly and personally affected by a mutual legal assistance measure and have a legitimate interest in its revocation or amendment are entitled to appeal under Art. 80h IMAC. A bank is therefore no longer entitled to appeal if it merely has to provide information about its customers and not about its own transactions.
The Federal Court thus confirmed the decision of the High Court not to enter into the appeal of X. SA, as the bank was not entitled to appeal.
Considerations
According to Art. 80h IMAC, those who are personally and directly affected by a mutual legal assistance measure and have a legitimate interest in its revocation or amendment are entitled to appeal. Mere indirect involvement is not sufficient for this.
In the present case, the ordered mutual legal assistance measures, which concerned the release of documents on the accounts of certain persons and the examination of bank employees about the relationships of these persons to the bank, did not directly affect the bank itself, but rather its customers. The bank was only indirectly affected, as it had to release documents and provide information…