Facts
The appellant, of Lebanese nationality, entered Switzerland in 1987 and filed an asylum application. In 1990, he married a Swiss citizen and withdrew his asylum application. In 1993, he submitted a facilitated naturalization application, without mentioning his existing marriage to a Lebanese woman and the children resulting from it. The marriage to the Swiss citizen was divorced in 1996. The EzDO declared the naturalization null and void in 2001, as the appellant had concealed essential facts.
The appellant filed an administrative law appeal, requesting the annulment of the decision of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) and the prior decision of the EzDO. The FDJP concluded that the appeal should be dismissed.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the competence of the EzDO to declare the naturalization null and void and came to the conclusion that the EzDO was competent to render the first-instance decision. The time limit for declaring the naturalization null and void begins to run from the pronouncement of the first-instance decision and not from the decision of the appeal instance.
The Federal Court also rejected the appellant's grievance that the previous instance had not assessed his allegations and had not entered into the merits of the…