Facts
The appellant, X., filed a civil law appeal against a judgment of the Rent and Lease Chamber of the Geneva Court of Justice, which had confirmed a judgment of the Rent and Lease Tribunal declaring inadmissible the appellant's request for the expulsion of Banque Y. SA from an apartment rented by it.
The appellant discovered that one of the assessors of the Rent and Lease Chamber, Pierre Stastny, also represented the opposing party in two other pending contentious proceedings to which the appellant was a party.
The appellant requested the recusal of the assessor, but the Rent and Lease Chamber refused to consider the matter, considering that it was no longer seized of the case.
The appellant then filed a civil law appeal with the Federal Tribunal, invoking the violation of the guarantee of an independent and impartial tribunal.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal examined the admissibility of the appeal and considered that the appellant had discovered the reason for recusal after the closure of the proceedings, but before the expiration of the appeal period.
The Federal Tribunal recalled that, according to art. 51 para. 3 CPC, if a reason for recusal is discovered only after the closure of the proceedings, the provisions on revision are applicable.
The Federal Tribunal also considered that the appellant had invoked the reason for recusal in his civil law appeal, which was admissible.
The Federal Tribunal then examined the merits of the appeal and considered that…