Facts
The parties, X. and Y., were married in Switzerland in 1972. X. is employed as a diplomat with the Swiss Confederation and is insured with the Federal Pension Fund (Publica). On August 22, 2002, the parties, who were both residing in the United States at the time, concluded a notarized divorce convention in which they regulated the pension adjustment. The American divorce court (Superior Court of the District of A.) approved this convention. Since Publica refused to transfer half of the pension assets to Y. as long as the divorce judgment was not recognized and declared enforceable by a Swiss court, X. filed a request for recognition and declaration of enforceability of the American judgment with the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Bern. The Court of Appeal dismissed this request.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court overturns the judgment of the Court of Appeal. It finds that foreign pension arrangements are generally recognizable, provided they do not violate the substantive public policy. In the present case, the solution agreed upon by the parties and approved by the American court meets these requirements. Although the foreign court cannot issue binding orders to the pension institution, as it was not a party to the divorce proceedings, the foreign court has nevertheless determined the principle and…