Dismissal of a claim for declaration of invalidity of a testamentary disposition due to failure to meet the annual deadline

Facts

Several legal heirs of Christian Schmid, based on Art. 519 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), demanded the declaration of invalidity of the testator's last will and testament, of which they had become aware on January 7, 1965. The facts from which they derived the invalidity of the dispositions were known to them at the latest on March 22, 1965, so that the annual deadline of Art. 521 para. 1 ZGB expired at the latest on March 22, 1966. The plaintiffs filed mediation requests on March 17, 1965, January 5, 1966, and January 2, 1967, but did not submit or did not submit the certificates issued after the failure of the conciliation attempts to the court in a timely manner. The claim was therefore dismissed as late.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court upholds its view that the "statute of limitations" provided for in Art. 521 and 533 ZGB is in reality a forfeiture of the right to sue, to which the provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR) on the interruption of the statute of limitations do not apply. Under these circumstances, the claim must in any case be filed…