Facts
By decision of August 24, 2005, confirmed by a formal measure of January 23, 2006, the Unemployment Insurance Fund of the Canton of Ticino suspended the insured person G. from the right to unemployment benefits for 31 days, as the termination of the employment contract by the employer T. was attributable to her fault. G., represented by lawyer Pagnamenta, appealed to the Insurance Court of the Canton of Ticino, whose President, after some investigations, struck the case off the rolls due to a settlement, consisting of a reduction of the suspension period from 31 to 18 days.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) filed an administrative law appeal to the Federal Court, requesting the annulment of the cantonal judgment or, alternatively, the referral of the case to the lower authority for a decision on the merits.
Considerations
According to the Federal Court, Art. 50 para. 1 ATSG allows the conclusion of settlements in the field of social insurance, understood as disputes concerning benefits under Art. 14 et seq. ATSG and Art. 132/134 OASI. This principle had already been affirmed by the case law prior to the entry into force of the ATSG and is also confirmed by the new provisions of the law.
The Federal Court also ruled that settlement agreements between insured persons and insurers are possible in the context of an…