Reimbursement of OASI contributions to a Kosovar national

Facts

M., born in 1977, is a Kosovar national and resides in Kosovo. From May 2003 to January 2005, he had worked in Switzerland and paid mandatory contributions to the Swiss Old Age and Survivors' Insurance (OASI/IV). In 2010, he requested the Swiss Compensation Office (SCO) to refund the OASI contributions. The SCO ordered a reimbursement of CHF 2'409. M. then requested a recalculation of the reimbursement amount. The Federal Administrative Court dismissed M.'s request for reimbursement of the OASI contributions, as the Social Security Agreement concluded between Switzerland and the former Yugoslavia continued to apply to Kosovar nationals and therefore no entitlement to reimbursement existed.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court upholds the SCO's appeal. It states that the secession of Kosovo constituted an effective change under international law and that Switzerland's non-continuation of the Social Security Agreement with Kosovo as of 1 April 2010 was lawful. The Social Security Agreement between Switzerland and the former Yugoslavia did not automatically continue to apply to Kosovo, as it did not contain any provisions on state succession. Switzerland pragmatically decided not to transfer the agreement to Kosovo, but to negotiate new agreements.

Furthermore, the respondent, as a Kosovar national, is not entitled to the continuation of the Social Security Agreement, as he does not also hold…