Facts
Joseph Sprung, born on January 18, 1927 in Berlin, who had lost his Polish nationality, fled from France to Switzerland as an emigrant in 1943. However, he was turned back by the Swiss border officials to France, with the threat of being handed over directly to the German authorities if he tried to enter again. A few days later, he was again apprehended in the Swiss border area and handed over to the German border authorities. As a result, Joseph Sprung was imprisoned, taken to the "Drancy" transit camp near Paris, and deported to "Auschwitz" in December 1943. In 1998, Joseph Sprung filed a claim for compensation of CHF 100,000 with the Federal Department of Finance, which the Federal Council rejected. Thereupon, Joseph Sprung sued the Swiss Confederation before the Federal Court for the payment of the compensation amount.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismisses the claim and awards the plaintiff a party compensation of CHF 100,000. It justifies this as follows:
The plaintiff's claim for compensation is absolutely forfeited under the Federal Act on the Responsibility of the Confederation, its Authorities and Officials, as the time limit of ten years since the damaging event in 1943 has expired. An exception to the forfeiture is not justified, as the plaintiff could have asserted his claims at the latest from the end of the 1950s.
Switzerland's refugee and asylum…