Facts
S. (born in 1958) suffered a traffic accident on 15 November 1992. The Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA), with which he was compulsorily insured against accidents and occupational diseases, initially provided the legal benefits. By decision of 28 January 1994, it ceased the payment of daily allowances and treatment costs as of 13 December 1993 and the end of January 1994 respectively. It also refused to grant a disability pension. However, by decision of 1 February 1994, SUVA granted the insured a 15% integrity indemnity.
Following an objection, SUVA cancelled the decisions to the extent that it had refused other insurance benefits for the consequences of the existing mental disorders, and covered the costs of the insured's psychotherapeutic treatment. For the objection procedure, free legal aid by lawyer P. was granted (decision of 5 August 1994).
On 8 December 1994, S. requested retroactive payment from 13 December 1993 and the continuous payment of full daily allowances, alternatively the granting of a full pension, as well as the appointment and remuneration of lawyer P. as free legal representative. After the regional agency R. had rejected the request for free legal aid on 19 December 1994, the SUVA's Objections Section, by decision of 4 January 1995, did not enter into the merits of an identical request.
Considerations
According to case law, there is in principle a right to legal aid in the administrative procedure of accident insurance resulting from a decision on objection, directly derived from Art. 4 Cst. This right does not depend on whether a procedure concerns disputed elements and is generally not limited in time according to the applicable procedural rules.
However, the granting of…