Fee of the unpaid legal representative in the amendment of a divorce judgment

Facts

The appellant, Dr. [A.] , was active as an unpaid legal representative in a procedure concerning the amendment and supplement of a divorce judgment before the Civil Court of Basel-Landschaft West. The court approved an agreement of the parties on November 13, 2015, and awarded the appellant a fee of CHF 2,907.10. However, the appellant had claimed a time expenditure of 30 hours and 20 minutes at CHF 200 plus expenses, i.e. CHF 6,651.05.

Against the cost decision of November 13, 2015, the appellant filed a complaint with the Cantonal Court of Basel-Landschaft, which dismissed the complaint. The appellant then filed a complaint with the FSCA, with the legal request that the contested decision be annulled and that a fee of CHF 6,651.05 be awarded to him.

Considerations

The FSCA decided that the complaint is accepted as a subsidiary constitutional complaint, since the amount in dispute does not reach the relevant threshold and the appellant does not raise a legal question of fundamental importance.

The FSCA examined the complaint from the point of view of arbitrariness or another constitutional right. It found that the lower court did not arbitrarily reduce the appellant's expenditure and that the reduction does not violate the principle of equal treatment or the…