No entitlement to translation of medical reports and internal communication into official language

Facts

Parties: Plaintiff (A.) against the IV Office for insured persons abroad and the Federal Social Insurance Court for persons abroad.

Facts: The plaintiff, a Swiss national residing in Spain, requested the translation of three medical reports, which were written in Spanish, into French. Furthermore, he objected to the use of the German language in internal communications by the IV Office.

Main question: Does the plaintiff have a right to the translation of the medical reports, and is the use of another national language in internal communications permissible?

Considerations

The plaintiff argued that, due to the equality of languages (Art. 70 Cst.) and the principle of the official language, he had a right to the translation of the medical reports. Furthermore, he claimed that the use of the German language in internal communications violated these principles.

The Federal Supreme Court found that neither the principle of the equality of languages nor the principle of the official language grants a right to the translation of the medical reports. The relevant provisions of Regulations No. 1408/71 and No. 574/72 do not provide for such a right. The case law of the Federal Social Insurance Court does not support this view either.

Regarding internal communication, the use of another national language in internal…