Facts
The Federal Supreme Court had to decide how long the limitation period for default interest on AHV/IV/EO contributions lasts. The parties assumed that the claim for default interest is subject to limitation. However, the length of the limitation period was disputed. The Federal Supreme Court had to answer this question itself in the absence of a statutory regulation. The Federal Supreme Court concluded that the limitation period for default interest on AHV/IV/EO contributions is analogous to the private law regulation of five years. This corresponds to the limitation period for the main claim, i.e. the collection of contributions under Art. 16 para. 1 OASIA. This is also intended to preserve legal peace between the state (or insurer) and the persons concerned in social insurance law.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court stated that neither the legal bases nor the general legal principle that claims for default interest are subject to limitation contain a statement on the duration of this limitation period. Since positive law provides for limitation periods for other social insurance claims, an analogy is appropriate.
Under private law, the limitation period for default interest according to case law and prevailing doctrine is based on the main claim or is ten years. Transferred to the context of social insurance law, this results in a…