Facts
Poly Laupen AG, which is part of the AMCOR Group, is active in the printing industry and specialized in the production of packaging and advertising materials. On April 30, 2002, a request by Poly Laupen AG for night work and regularly recurring Sunday work was published in the Federal Gazette. On June 4, 2002, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) granted Poly Laupen AG the approval for night work and regularly recurring Sunday work in the "sheet-fed offset and rotogravure printing machines, die-cutting, embossing and gluing machines in the Cartonage department" for up to 20 men or women per shift and on a maximum of 20 Sundays and public holidays for the period from April 15, 2002 to April 19, 2003. The SECO cited "economically indispensable mode of operation" as the justification.
The media trade union comedia filed a complaint against this decision with the Appeals Commission of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, requesting the revocation of the approval for Sunday work. The Appeals Commission dismissed the complaint and ordered comedia to pay the procedural costs as well as a party indemnity in favor of Poly Laupen AG.
The media trade union comedia then filed an administrative court appeal with the Federal Supreme Court, requesting the annulment of the Appeals Commission's decision and the referral of the matter back to the Appeals Commission for a new decision.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court came to the following conclusion
The Appeals Commission was allowed to uphold the first-instance approval decision of the SECO with a different legal justification, without exceeding the subject matter of the dispute. The requirements for the form of the application and the justification of…