Facts
The case concerns the transitional regulation for the new Ordinance on Congenital Disabilities, which entered into force on 1 January 1972. Thomas Binggeli was entitled to medical measures for the treatment of his congenital disabilities under the old Ordinance of 10 August 1965. With the new regulation, his disabilities were no longer covered by the mandatory benefits of the Disability Insurance. The Federal Social Insurance Office issued instructions to regulate the transition to the new legal situation. The principle was that existing decisions should not be reviewed ex officio, but the new law should be applied in new assessments.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the transitional regulation of the Federal Social Insurance Office as lawful. It justified this by stating that the adjustment of each individual decision would not be feasible with the required reliability and within a useful time, given the large number of decisions on medical measures for the treatment of congenital disabilities. A general regulation, as issued by the Federal Office, was therefore necessary to optimally take into account the principles of legality, equality before the law and legal certainty.
The Federal Supreme Court further stated that the court of last instance is not bound by the general instructions of the administrative supervisory authority. However, it has no reason to disregard these instructions in the…