Facts
The respondent, a Pakistani citizen, brought an action against [X.] (defendant) before the Commercial Court of Zurich to obtain access to account and deposit documents in the name of his deceased father. The defendant refused to provide information, citing Swiss bank secrecy, and requested a joint application from all four heirs. The applicants, who are the respondent's siblings, joined the proceedings as interveners and took over the continuation of the proceedings at their own expense after the defendant left the continuation of the proceedings to them.
The Commercial Court dismissed the plea of lack of territorial jurisdiction and declared itself competent. The applicants filed a complaint of nullity with the Court of Cassation of the Canton of Zurich, which did not consider the complaint. The applicants requested the Federal Court to quash the circular decision of the Court of Cassation and the decision of the Commercial Court and not to consider the action due to lack of jurisdiction.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the admissibility of the complaint and found that the applicants had participated in the proceedings before the lower court as interveners and applicants and were therefore entitled to appeal in civil matters. The court ruled that the complaint against the decision of the Commercial Court was admissible insofar as it concerned jurisdiction.
The Federal Court dismissed the complaint of violation of the right to be heard and the prohibition of arbitrariness by the Court of Cassation, as the latter had dealt with the complaint of violation of the principle of disposition. The court also ruled that the application…