Facts
This judgment addresses the question of whether cantonal statutory provisions on suspension of time limits are applicable in the first instance appeal proceedings of accident insurance. The Swiss Accident Insurance Institution (SUVA) had rejected the payment of benefits to the heirs of its insured, K. E. The surviving dependents filed an appeal within the time limit extended by the court vacation period with the Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich. However, the court did not enter into the appeal due to tardiness.
The children of K. E. then requested the annulment of the lower court's decision not to enter into the appeal. The Federal Supreme Court therefore had to examine whether the cantonal court was right in not entering into the appeal.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that the Accident Insurance Act (UVG) does not exclude the application of cantonal statutory provisions on suspension of time limits in the first instance appeal proceedings. The lower court had assumed that due to the qualified silence of the law regarding the suspension of time limits, there was no room for cantonal procedural law. However, the Federal Supreme Court disagreed with this view.
According to the Federal Supreme Court, Art. 97 UVG, which regulates the time limits in the proceedings before the insurers, is not applicable to the proceedings before the cantonal insurance courts. Rather, the cantons have the…