CASE OF WETTSTEIN v. SWITZERLAND
Violation of Art. 6-1;Pecuniary damage - claim dismissed;Costs and expenses partial award - domestic and Convention proceedings
Christos Rozakis
8. The applicant, born in 1930, is a businessman living in Pfäffikon (Switzerland). 9. The applicant is the owner of two properties, of 115 sq. m. and 51 sq. m. respectively,in the municipality of Kloten. Half of the second property is tied up with a joint ownership of part of a path. In the 1950s an area zoning plan was prepared, although no general settlement regarding the applicant's properties was achieved. The applicant also unsuccessfully requested the Kloten municipality on a number of occasions to take over the two properties and to compensate him accordingly. 10. The applicant was also involved in other building proceedings in the Kloten municipality in which the opposing party, a cantonal insurance pension office, was represented by a lawyer, Mr W. 11. The applicant was furthermore involved in building proceedings against the Küsnacht municipality in which that municipality was represented by a lawyer, Mrs R. These proceedings were conducted before the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zürich and in last resort before the Federal Court, its decision having been given on 24 October 1995. 12. Mrs R. and Mr W. are practising lawyers (Rechtsanwälte) who at that time shared office premises in Zürich together with Mr L. Lawyers R. and L. also acted as part-time administrative court judges at the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zürich. 13. In the proceedings concerning the applicant's properties in Kloten (see paragraph 9 above), the applicant filed on 15 February 1995 an action with the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zürich, requesting an order that the Kloten municipality take over the two properties, including the joint ownership, for the sum of 368,200 Swiss francs. 14. In the applicant's case, the bench of the Administrative Court was then composed of five judges, namely the Vice-President, three administrative court judges and one substitute judge. Among the administrative court judges were R. and L., who were part-time judges. 15. On 15 December 1995 the court rejected the applicant's action. The Court found that it was not competent to deal with the matter which appertained to the jurisdiction of the Assessment Commission (Schätzungskommission). However, the court declined to transmit the case to the Assessment Commission as the applicant had forfeited his right to claim compensation. Thus, if he had disagreed with the area zoning plan, in particular with the settlement of accounts of 1957, he should have requested the institution of assessment proceedings at the relevant time. The Court found that the claim for compensation would in any event be unfounded as it had to be directed against other proprietors in the area covered by the zoning plan, rather than the municipality. 16. The applicant filed a public-law appeal with the Federal Court in which he complained, on the one hand, about the outcome of the proceedings, on the other, that judge R. had shortly before acted in separate appeal proceedings, instituted by the applicant, as the legal representative of the opposing party, namely the Küsnacht municipality. Moreover, judge R. shared office premises with judge L., and also with W. who, in separate proceedings instituted by the applicant, had represented the opposing party. 17. The public-law appeal was dismissed by the Federal Court on 29 April 1996, the decision being served on 9 May 1996. In its decision, the court dealt with the applicant's complaint that certain judges of the Administrative Court had not been impartial as follows: “The interrelations mentioned may raise certain doubts in view of Article 58 § 1 of the Federal Constitution which requires the impartiality of judges. However, the applicant does not claim that R. or another member of the Administrative Court was in fact biased when giving the contested decision. The Federal Court has already previously held that the fact that legal representatives in the Canton of Zürich also acted as part-time administrative court judges could under certain circumstances result in an interrelation of interests. The Court found, however, that it could be expected from a part-time judge that he could distinguish between his official function and his private professional activities. A part-time judge was not, therefore, obliged to stand down merely because he had represented legal interests in other proceedings which were opposed to those of the applicant ... In view of these principles it can equally not be assumed in the present case that the Administrative Court was composed of judges who could be regarded as biased when giving the contested decision.” 18. The Federal Court furthermore did not consider it arbitrary that the Administrative Court had found that the applicant's claims were forfeited as he had failed duly to raise them. 19. On 20 August 1996 the Federal Court dismissed the applicant's request to reopen the proceedings. 20. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Zürich consists of both full-time and part-time judges, the latter also acting as practising lawyers on a part-time basis. 21. Section 34 of the Administrative Judiciary Procedure Act (Verwaltungsrechtspflegegesetz) of the Canton of Zürich of 1959 concerns “incompatibility” (Unvereinbarkeit) and stated in the version in force at the relevant time: “1. The office of a full-time judge of the Administrative Court is incompatible with any other full-time professional activity [hauptberufliche Tätigkeit]. Full-time judges may not be members of the Federal Assembly nor members or registrars of a municipal or district council. They are not allowed legally to represent third persons before courts and administrative bodies. An authorisation of the cantonal parliament is required if they wish to belong to the administration or management of a commercial company or cooperative acting for commercial purposes. 2. Part-time judges may not be employed full-time by an administrative authority or a court, and may not be members or registrars of a municipal or district council.” 22. The Administrative Judiciary Procedure Act was revised in 1997 and section 34 now states: “1. The office of a full-time member of the Administrative Court is incompatible both with any other full-time professional activity and with the professional representation of third persons before courts or administrative authorities. 2. The office of a part-time member of the Administrative Court is incompatible with the professional representation of third persons before the Administrative Court ...” 23. In Switzerland no particular magistrate's training is required to enter the judicial profession. This explains, inter alia, the comparatively high number of practising lawyers (legal representatives) acting as part-time or substitute judges. 24. The Federal Court consists of thirty full-time and fifteen part-time judges, and the Federal Insurance Court consists of nine full-time and nine part-time judges. Part-time judges may exercise the profession of practising lawyer. According to section 22 of the Federal Judiciary Act (Organisationsgesetz), judges shall stand down if, in a particular case, they have participated in another capacity, inter alia as legal adviser or as practising lawyer. The First Public Law Division of the Federal Court furthermore avoids appointing as part-time judges persons resident in the canton in which the case originates. 25. In various federal appeals commissions (Rekurskommissionen) provision is made for full-time and part-time judges. Whatever other functions the latter exercise, these functions may not compromise the accomplishment of their tasks or the independence and reputation of the appeals commission. 26. In various cantons, no particular regulations exist as to part-time judges acting as practising lawyers, for example for certain judges of the Cantons of Appenzell Inner Rhodes, Graubünden and Valais. Other cantons have specific legislation on the matter. 27. For instance, certain cantonal courts are composed exclusively of full-time judges who exercise no other legal profession, for instance the Cantonal and Administrative Courts of the Cantons of Berne and of Lucerne; the Administrative Court of the Cantons of Fribourg and Ticino; the Cantonal Court of the Canton of Thurgau; and the Cantonal Court and the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Schaffhausen. In the Canton of Graubünden, as from 2001, eight of the eleven presidents of the first-instance courts will act as full-time judges. 28. In some cantons, certain part-time judges are prohibited from acting as practising lawyers, for instance in the Canton of Basle Rural (part-time judges of the Court of Appeal in criminal cases) and in the Canton of Aargau (part-time judges of the Cantonal Court and the specialised administrative courts and the presidents of the district courts). In the Canton of Berne a new law has been proposed which, as from 2001, intends to prohibit part-time judges from acting as practising lawyers, although this function will continue to be possible for substitute judges. In the Canton of St Gall, part-time district court judges may not act as practising lawyers in the district in question. 29. In various cantons part-time judges of a court may not appear before that court as practising lawyers, for instance in the Cantons of Schwyz, Obwalden, Zug, Aargau (in respect of the Administrative Tribunal), Basle Urban (in respect of the regular judge at the Court of Appeal in administrative matters), St Gall (in respect of part-time judges who are otherwise employed for more than 40% of their time), Graubünden (in respect of judges of the administrative courts and their respective divisions and, as from 2001, in respect of district and regional court presidents and their deputies). The Canton of Basle Rural is currently revising its relevant legal norms along these lines. 30. Certain cantonal courts envisage the possibility for substitute judges to act as practising lawyers, for instance in the Cantons of Aargau (labour courts), Berne (Cantonal and Administrative Court), Basle Urban, Geneva, Fribourg (Administrative Court), Ticino, Solothurn and Schaffhausen (Court of Appeal and Cantonal Court). 31. The Federal Court has pronounced on various occasions on the question of the impartiality of lawyers acting as judges, in particular the danger of a link of dependency between the judge and one of the parties. For instance, a lawyer may not act as judge in a case where he or she is representing one of the parties to the case, or where in separate pending proceedings he or she is representing the opposing party. On the other hand, as a rule no issue will arise where the lawyer once represented a party and the mandate has been completed. The mere fact that the lawyer generally advises in building matters does not imply that as a judge he will necessarily favour a plaintiff who is involved in the construction of a house (see judgment of 15 May 1992, Schweizerisches Zentralblatt für Staats- und Verwaltungsrecht 94, 1993, 87; and the judgment of 20 December 1990, Arrêts du Tribunal fédéral suisse (ATF), vol. 116 Ia, p. 485).