Facts
[B.] worked as a chambermaid in a hotel in Basel. On June 18, 1993, she caught a burglar tampering with the door of a hotel room. The burglar fled and pushed [B.] aside, causing her to fall and sustain injuries, including to her head. As a result of this incident, [B.] complained of various ailments and was mostly unable to work since June 18, 1993.
[B.] filed a request for appropriate compensation and satisfaction based on the Victim Assistance Act (OHG). On November 19, 1993, she supplemented this request with a claim for an advance payment of CHF 8,000 pursuant to Art. 15 OHG. The Office for Social Contributions of Basel-City rejected the request, whereupon [B.] filed a complaint with the Court of Appeal of Basel-City and again requested an advance payment of CHF 8,000. The Court of Appeal of Basel-City rejected this request in an interim decision dated September 15, 1994.
Considerations
The Federal Court states that compensation and satisfaction under the OHG are services of federal administrative law, which are decided within the framework of an order under Art. 5 of the Administrative Procedure Act (VwVG). Administrative court appeals are admissible against such orders.
The Federal Court further states that Art. 15 OHG regulates two things: On the one hand, it describes the material requirements for the existence of a claim to an advance payment. On the other hand, the introductory sentence of Art. 15 OHG imposes on the authority, in procedural terms, the obligation to examine the compensation…