Facts
The appellant A. was placed in compulsory care at Clinic B. on March 17, 2014. He filed a complaint against this, which was dismissed by the District Court. The legally represented appellant then appealed to the High Court of the Canton of Zurich, which upheld the complaint and instructed Clinic B. to immediately release the appellant. The High Court did not impose any fees or costs and did not award any party compensation.
The appellant requested the Federal Court to set aside or supplement the decisions of the lower instances with regard to the compensation issue. The Federal Court dismissed the appeal, insofar as it was admissible.
Considerations
The Federal Court states that the federal legislator has left the regulation of party compensation in proceedings before the judicial appellate instance to the cantons. In the Canton of Zurich, neither the Introductory Act to the Child and Adult Protection Law nor the subsidiarily applicable cantonal law provides a legal basis for a claim to party compensation against the state in proceedings before the judicial appellate instances regarding compulsory placement.
The Federal Court examines the application or non-application of the relevant provisions of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code (CPC) by the lower instance and concludes that this is not objectionable in terms of arbitrariness. In particular,…