Facts
X. AG, a Swiss public limited company, entered into two loan agreements with a company controlled by A., for a total amount of 600,000 euros. The loans were repaid in euros. A. then brought an action against X. AG to obtain repayment of the loans, but in Swiss francs. The court of first instance condemned X. AG to pay 884,460 Swiss francs, as well as interest. X. AG appealed and requested the decision to be annulled. The court of appeal confirmed the decision of the court of first instance, but added that X. AG could also pay in euros.
X. AG filed a nullity appeal and a reform appeal with the Federal Court. The Federal Court admitted the reform appeal and annulled the decision of the court of appeal, considering that X. AG was not required to pay in Swiss francs, but only in euros.
Considerations
The Federal Court considered that, according to Article 84 of the CO, the debtor has the option, but not the obligation, to pay a debt expressed in a foreign currency in the country's currency. The court also considered that the question of the currency in which the debt must be paid is a question of substantive law and not of procedural law.
The Federal Court also examined the issue of reformatio in peius, which prohibits the appeal court from modifying the decision of the court of first instance to the detriment of…