Facts
On August 11, 2008, [A.] submitted a claim for benefits to the disability insurance. In a draft decision dated October 14, 2010, the Disability Insurance Office for the Canton of Vaud (hereinafter: the AI Office) informed the insured that it intended to refuse his right to a disability pension. The insured, represented by a lawyer, expressed his objections and subsequently requested the granting of free legal assistance for the administrative procedure. However, by decision of September 20, 2012, the AI Office rejected this request for legal assistance, considering that the complexity of the case was not such that the assistance of a lawyer appeared necessary.
The insured appealed this decision to the Cantonal Court of the Canton of Vaud, Social Insurance Court, which dismissed his appeal by judgment of May 24, 2013. [A.] then filed a public law appeal against this judgment, concluding that he should be granted the right to legal assistance from a lawyer in the context of the administrative procedure opposing him to the AI Office.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considered that the cantonal judgment of May 24, 2013 was an interim decision within the meaning of Art. 93 LTF, and not a final decision within the meaning of Art. 90 LTF. Indeed, this decision does not put an end to the main procedure on the granting or refusal of disability insurance benefits, but deals solely with the question of the right to free legal assistance in the context of this administrative procedure.
According to the Federal Tribunal, such an interim decision is only admissible before it if it can cause irreparable prejudice to the…