Facts
A.A., born in 2009, suffers from right-sided hemiplegia and spastic cerebral palsy. The Disability Insurance Office of the Canton of Geneva (hereinafter: the AI Office) granted him a helplessness allowance and an assistance allowance starting in 2012.
In 2019, the AI Office discontinued the assistance allowance on the grounds that A.A. was no longer attending a regular class, but had been enrolled in a specialized, private and subsidized school since the 2016-2017 school year. A.A.'s appeal against this decision was rejected by the Court of Justice of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.
A.A. then appealed to the Federal Tribunal by way of a public law appeal, requesting the annulment of the cantonal judgment and the maintenance of the assistance allowance.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal. It considered that Article 39a, letter a, of the Disability Insurance Regulation (RAI), which makes the right to the assistance allowance for minors subject to regular attendance of compulsory school education in a regular class, is in accordance with the law and does not violate the principle of equal treatment.
The Federal Tribunal explained that the Federal Council has a wide margin of discretion to set the conditions for the right to the assistance allowance for minors, in accordance with the delegation provided for in Article 42quater, paragraph 3, of the Federal Law on Disability Insurance (LAI). The criterion of attending a regular class is in line with the objectives of the assistance allowance, namely to improve the insured person's quality of life, increase the likelihood that they can remain at home, and facilitate their social and professional integration.
According to the Federal Tribunal, this…