Facts
The Union of India brought an action against Crédit Agricole Indosuez (Suisse) SA before the Court of First Instance of the Canton of Geneva to obtain the restitution of two antique gold coins that the bank held as collateral. The Union of India claimed to have become the owner of these coins in 1950, upon the unification of the country, and disputed the bank's valid acquisition of a pledge right, arguing that the bank had not acted in good faith. The Court of First Instance dismissed the plaintiff's claim, and the Court of Justice of the Canton of Geneva confirmed this judgment. The plaintiff then appealed to the Federal Tribunal.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal to the extent that it was admissible. It considered that the subsidiary and independent reasoning of the contested judgment, according to which the bank had validly acquired a pledge right even if the pledgor did not have the power to dispose of the gold coins, was not open to criticism. Indeed, the good faith of the pledgee is assessed according to Art. 3(2) CC, which provides that the owner may assert that the creditor did not exercise the diligence that the circumstances required of him. The Federal Tribunal found that the bank, as a banking institution, had complied with the due…