Facts
On May 4, 1992, [D.] was found guilty by the Military Court of Appeal 2A for conscientious objection, was obligated to perform work in the public interest, and was excluded from the army. By order dated March 19, 1993, [D.] was assessed military service compensation for the year 1992. He filed an objection against this order and requested the cancellation of the compensation fee, as he was performing work service and this service should be recognized as equivalent to military service.
The objection was rejected by the Military Service Compensation Administration of the Canton of St. Gallen. The subsequent appeal to the Administrative Recourse Commission of the Canton of St. Gallen was also unsuccessful. Finally, the administrative court appeal against the judgment of the Administrative Recourse Commission was dismissed by the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that according to the constitutional and legal order, personal service can only be understood as military service, i.e., service in the army. Whoever does not fulfill the military service obligation through personal service must pay a military service compensation. The exceptions to the compensation obligation under Art. 4 of the Military Service Compensation Act (MPG) do not cover conscientious objection.
The obligation to perform work service under Art. 81 No. 2 of the Military Criminal Code (MStG) does not constitute a form of fulfillment of the military service obligation, but rather an alternative measure to imprisonment, which retains its punitive character. Therefore, it cannot be equated with military service in terms of compensation. The conscript who refuses military service on grounds of conscience is therefore obligated to pay the military service compensation even for the period during which he is required to perform work service.
The appellant's reference to civilian…