Facts
In this case, the issue was whether the debtor should be granted legal aid for the revaluation of a property to be auctioned under Article 9(2) of the Federal Court Ordinance on the Compulsory Enforcement of Real Estate (VZG) in the context of an enforcement proceeding.
The debt collection office had estimated the market value of the property at 3,120,000 Swiss francs. The debtor demanded a revaluation by an expert, for which the debt collection office required a cost advance of 1,500 Swiss francs. The debtor requested legal aid, which was, however, rejected by the lower and upper cantonal supervisory authorities.
The debtor filed a civil law appeal against the decision of the upper cantonal supervisory authority with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It stated that the debtor in the enforcement proceedings has no claim to legal aid for the revaluation of the property to be auctioned.
According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, the public authorities are only obliged to support private individuals through legal aid if otherwise the loss of a right or an inadmissible interference with their rights is threatened. In the present case, however, it was merely a matter of estimating the market value of the property, which only gives the debtor an indication of a…