Facts
Michael Omlin, born in 1962, was fostered and raised since birth by his paternal great-uncle and great-aunt, the spouses Anton Omlin-Ruffiner, who were unable to adopt him due to their own children. After the accidental death of Anton Omlin on September 5, 1971, the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA) granted a survivor's pension to the widow and the insured's mother, but rejected the claim for a pension for the foster child (decision of January 14, 1972).Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court upheld the rejection of the pension claim for the foster child. It considered that Art. 85 of the Accident Insurance Act (MilIA) does not provide for the payment of a pension to foster children, but only to the legitimate or recognized children of the deceased. Although this situation may be regrettable, it is not a gap in the law that the judge could fill. The legislator has deliberately chosen not to include foster children among the beneficiaries of the survivor's pension, as evidenced by the fact that this exclusion was not modified when Art. 85 MilIA was revised in 1952, even though other social laws had in the meantime recognized the rights of foster children.
The…