Facts
The case concerns an insured person who has filed an administrative court appeal against a decision of the cantonal appeal commission for social insurance of Obwalden. The insured person formally objected that the contested decision did not contain any information on the personal composition of the lower instance.
The Federal Court had to clarify whether the failure to disclose the members of the appeal commission who had made the decision constitutes a violation of federal law. This was particularly about the right to be informed of the personal composition of the deciding authority pursuant to Article 58 paragraph 1 of the Federal Constitution.
Considerations
The Federal Court stated that the guarantee of the constitutional judge pursuant to Article 58 paragraph 1 of the Federal Constitution includes the right to be informed of the personal composition of the deciding authority. Only in this way can the person concerned assess whether his right to the proper composition of the court and to an impartial and independent assessment has been preserved.
Objections concerning the composition of a court or the bias of a judge must be asserted as early as possible. Anyone who identifies such a deficiency and does not immediately…