Decision of the Compensation Fund against the former administrator of a bankrupt company

Facts

The Compensation Fund of the Canton of Geneva filed a claim in the bankruptcy of company X SA, whose principal place of business was in the Canton of Valais but which had a branch in the Canton of Geneva. The Fund then summoned the former administrator of the bankrupt company, A., to pay the outstanding amount. A. objected to this decision. The Fund then brought the case before the Cantonal Appeal Commission of Geneva on AHV matters, which declared itself competent to examine the case on the merits. A. filed an administrative law appeal against this interlocutory decision with the Federal Insurance Court.

Considerations

The Federal Insurance Court ruled that the appeal was admissible, as an interlocutory decision on jurisdiction can cause irreparable harm to the party contesting it. On the merits, the Court considered that the Franco-Swiss Declaration of 1913 on the transmission of judicial documents was not applicable in this case, and that only the provisions of the 1975 Franco-Swiss Social Security Convention should be applied.

Regarding the competence of the appeal authority, the Court ruled that when a decision on compensation is…