Reimbursement of Social Assistance Benefits and Statute of Limitations

Facts

The complainant, a Lebanese citizen, filed an asylum application on December 12, 1989, which was rejected with final effect by the Federal Department of Justice and Police on March 7, 1991. Subsequently, he submitted another asylum application under a false identity, which was also rejected; a third asylum application, which he had filed under another false identity, was discontinued in September 1991. On February 20, 1992, the complainant married a Swiss citizen and was granted a residence permit for the canton of Bern based on this marriage.

The Federal Office for Refugees requested the complainant on May 7, 1992, to reimburse social assistance benefits received in the amount of CHF 7,438.30 by May 31, 1992, or to submit a concrete repayment proposal. The complainant subsequently contested the reimbursement claim. By decision of January 30, 1995, the Federal Office determined the amount of social assistance benefits to be reimbursed at CHF 6,134.85 and set a deadline for the complainant to transfer the amount or submit a concrete payment proposal by February 28, 1995.

On March 3, 1995, the complainant filed a complaint against this decision with the Federal Department of Justice and Police. On March 24, 1999, while the complaint proceedings were still pending, he requested the department to determine the statute of limitations for the reimbursement claim and to award him party compensation.

The department dismissed the complaint on December 29, 1999. It held that, under the given circumstances, the statute of limitations could not be invoked; furthermore, the reasonableness of reimbursing social assistance benefits in the amount of (according to the calculation of the Federal Office in its statement of June 7, 1995) still CHF 4,716.85 was to be affirmed.

Considerations

The Federal Court dealt with the question of whether the administrative appeal against the decision of the Federal Department of Justice and Police of December 29, 1999, is admissible. It came to the conclusion that the administrative appeal is admissible, as the new Asylum Act of June 26, 1998, allows administrative appeals in asylum matters, insofar as they are not explicitly declared inadmissible.

The court further examined the statute of limitations for the reimbursement claim. It found that the one-year statute of limitations according to Art. 85 para. 3 AsylA had already expired at the time when the department confirmed the reimbursement decision of the Federal Office. The court came…