Facts
Jorge R., born in 1964, single and without vocational training, has suffered from a serious mental condition since his adolescence. He has been receiving a full disability pension from the disability insurance since July 1, 1982. In October and November 1984, he committed various offenses, including a robbery and numerous thefts. He was arrested on November 21, 1984 and held in pre-trial detention. Subsequently, he was referred to the District Correctional Tribunal of Neuchâtel, which ordered his placement in a work education home.
Having learned that the insured was in pre-trial detention, the compensation fund discontinued the ongoing disability pension "as of the end of January 1985", on the grounds that the person concerned was incarcerated. Jorge R. appealed this decision to the Administrative Tribunal of the Canton of Neuchâtel, which partially upheld the appeal, considering that the discontinuation of the pension should only take effect as of March 1, 1985.
Jorge R. filed an administrative law appeal against this judgment, requesting the maintenance of his right to a disability pension beyond March 1, 1985.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considered that detention of a certain duration, whether ordered on a preventive basis or for the purpose of executing a sentence, does not constitute a ground for revision within the meaning of Art. 41 of the Disability Insurance Act (LAI), but rather a ground for suspension of the right to the disability pension.
Indeed, the insured's state of health does not undergo any change solely due to incarceration, and one cannot speak of a true change in legal status, as the case law is primarily aimed at the transition from domestic to professional activity and vice versa. Furthermore, during the execution of a prison or custodial sentence, the convicted person is generally required to work in accordance with their abilities and to be able to provide for their own maintenance once released.
However, the Federal…