Facts
The case concerns the question of whether a public authority that has advanced child support payments has the right to demand a debtor's assignment under Art. 291 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB). The municipality of X. had applied to the District Court of Lenzburg to instruct the employer of Y. to pay the maintenance contributions directly to the municipality. The District Court and the High Court of the Canton of Aargau had rejected this.
The Federal Supreme Court partially upheld the appeal of the municipality of X. and remanded the case to the District Court of Lenzburg for reassessment.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the debtor's assignment under Art. 291 ZGB is a privileged enforcement measure sui generis that is closely related to civil law and of a proprietary nature. Therefore, the appeal in civil matters is generally admissible.
The Federal Supreme Court qualifies the debtor's assignment as a substantive final judgment, over which it has full legal cognition. It sees no reason to deny the advancing public authority the active legitimacy for the debtor's assignment. The legislator, the prevailing doctrine, and the previous case law assume that the right to the debtor's assignment passes to the public authority if it has advanced the maintenance contributions.
The Federal Supreme Court states that the public authority is…