Facts
[D.], a Turkish insured person born in 1961 and domiciled in Turkey, received on February 6, 1996 a decision from the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (hereinafter: SUVA) maintaining his entitlement to a 10% disability pension beyond July 31, 1991. On March 2, 1996, [D.] filed an opposition to this decision, but SUVA declared his opposition inadmissible on June 26, 1996 on the grounds that it was late.
[D.] appealed against this decision of inadmissibility to the Insurance Court of the Canton of Vaud, which also dismissed his appeal on December 12, 1996 on the grounds that the opposition was late.
[D.] then filed an administrative law appeal with the Federal Insurance Court, concluding for the annulment of the cantonal judgment and the granting of a higher disability pension.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court first found that the appeal could only relate to the decision of inadmissibility of the opposition, and not to the merits of the dispute.
It then noted that the notification of the decision of January 30, 1996 to the insured person domiciled in Turkey had not been carried out properly, as it should have been done through diplomatic channels in accordance with the principles of public international law. The Social Security Convention between Switzerland and Turkey does not authorize SUVA to notify its decisions by post to an insured person domiciled in Turkey.
Further…