Facts
B.A., a former federal employee, passed away in 2011. The Federal Pension Fund PUBLICA (hereinafter: Publica) had already paid an old-age pension of CHF 5,424.45 to B.A. for the month of March 2011, after becoming aware of his death. Publica then demanded the amount back from A.A., the deceased's son and heir. After several partial payments and reminders, Publica initiated debt collection proceedings for a claim of CHF 1,235.- plus 5% interest from September 4, 2013. A.A. filed an objection against the payment order.
Publica filed a lawsuit with the Social Insurance Court of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, requesting that A.A. be ordered to pay CHF 635.- plus interest from September 4, 2013, and that the objection in the debt collection proceedings be dismissed. The cantonal court dismissed the lawsuit.
Publica then filed an appeal in public law matters with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that the relative one-year deadline and the five-year deadline for asserting the reclaim claim under Art. 35a para. 2 BVG are to be understood as statutes of limitation in the sense of the Code of Obligations.
The lower court had considered the relative one-year deadline as a preclusive deadline, as it had oriented itself on the legislative history of this provision, which goes back to Art. 47 para. 2 AHVG. However, the Federal Supreme Court saw reasons to suggest that the legislator, in adopting this…