Facts
The case concerns the question of whether the debt collection of health insurance premiums by a joint-stock company is excluded from bankruptcy proceedings. The SWICA Health Organization, a joint-stock company, had initiated debt collection proceedings against a debtor. The debtor filed a complaint against this debt collection.
The Federal Court had to decide whether the requirements for the exclusion of bankruptcy proceedings pursuant to Art. 43 para. 1 DEBA (Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act) are fulfilled. For this, two cumulative conditions are necessary: The claim being enforced must be based on public law, and the creditor must be a legal entity under public law.
Considerations
The Federal Court concluded that the second requirement is not fulfilled, as the SWICA Health Organization as a joint-stock company is not a legal entity under public law. The introduction of the mandatory health insurance on January 1, 1996, has not changed this.
Although the SWICA argued that it should be considered as an implementing body of the legally standardized and…