Latest Rulings of the Federal Court
Here you will find the most recent rulings of the Federal Court (BGer) from bger.ch. For the first three rulings, we present detailed summaries including facts, considerations, and dispositives. For the other rulings, you will find a summary of the facts. The complete summaries of all rulings are available on the portal of Lexplorer. There, you can configure your newsletter and receive the latest rulings tailored to your areas of law.
9C_654/2025: Inadmissibility of the appeal due to non-payment of the cost advance in connection with VAT disputes
Summary of the Facts
The Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) did not consider a request for reopening by A.________ AG regarding VAT for the tax periods 2017 to 2021. The Federal Administrative Court required an advance payment of CHF 1,000, which was not made in due time. Therefore, it did not consider the appeal. A.________ AG appealed to the Federal Court and argued, among other things, that the application of the presumption of delivery by the lower court was contrary to federal law.
Summary of the Considerations
- **E.1:** The appeal can only be lodged in cases of legal violations according to Art. 95 ff. BGG, with qualified obligations for objections and justification. - **E.2:** The application of the presumption of delivery by the lower court was to be examined. - **E.3:** The lower court correctly stated that the presumption of delivery applies if a notification is not accepted within the collection period against signature. Therefore, the interim decision was deemed delivered as of September 19, 2025. - **E.4:** The arguments of the appellant against the presumption of delivery were dismissed as unfounded. It was also established that there was no violation of Art. 29 para. 2 BV or Art. 29a BV. - **E.5:** The further requests of the appellant were summarized and also rejected. In particular, the appellant had no right to a declaration of federal unlawfulness or free legal representation. - **E.6:** The appeal was dismissed in a simplified procedure.
Summary of the Dispositive
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal and imposed court costs of CHF 1,000 on the appellant. The judgment was communicated to the parties and the Federal Administrative Court in writing.
9C_59/2025: Judgment on the Invalidity Pension Issue
Summary of the Facts
The appellant, born in 1959, applied for benefits from the invalidity insurance in April 2017 after being hardly employed since 2016 due to health issues. The IV office of the canton of Zurich denied the claim for an invalidity pension with a decision in February 2024. The Social Insurance Court of the canton of Zurich confirmed this decision. In the federal court proceedings, the applicability of the previous law and the usability of the remaining work capacity on the balanced labor market is examined.
Summary of the Considerations
- **E.1:** Determination of the scope of review and the legal basis according to Art. 95 f. BGG, in particular the intertemporal provisions. For the insured person who asserted the pension claim before 2022 and had already reached the age of 55, the previous law applies until the end of 2021. - **E.2:** Review of the lower court regarding the rejection of the claim for an invalidity pension. Applicability of the relevant legal bases (Art. 7 and 8 ATSG, Art. 4 para. 1 and Art. 28 para. 1 IVG). - **E.3:** A multidisciplinary report from February 2023 confirms a work capacity of 70% in adapted work since 2019. The lower court saw no significant restrictions for sedentary activities to the extent of 70%. However, the assessment of the remaining work capacity as economically usable is disputed by the appellant. - **E.4:** The Federal Court denies the violation of the right to be heard. The reasoning of the lower court regarding fine motor skills and their usability is sufficient. - **E.5:** The usability of the remaining work capacity due to personal and professional circumstances (age, lack of education, activity solely in cleaning) as well as the short remaining duration of employability is denied. The economic usability of the remaining work capacity is not given. - **E.5.2:** For the reasons stated, it is determined that the appellant is entitled to a full invalidity pension from January 1, 2019.
Summary of the Dispositive
The appeal was upheld and previous decisions were overturned. The appellant was granted a full invalidity pension from January 1, 2019, and the costs were imposed on the IV office.
4D_234/2025: Inadmissibility of an appeal in a matter of definitive legal opening
Summary of the Facts
The appellant contested a decision by the president of the District Court of Greyerz from September 4, 2025, which granted the definitive legal opening for an amount of CHF 1,100 as well as costs and interest in favor of the canton of Fribourg, and filed an appeal with the II. Civil Appeals Chamber of the Cantonal Court of Fribourg. This declared the appeal obviously inadmissible by decision of November 5, 2025. The appellant then filed an appeal with the Federal Court on November 28, 2025.
Summary of the Considerations
The Federal Court pointed out that the appeal is only admissible if a reasonable process cost advance payment is made. This was imposed on the appellant with an initial deadline until January 5, 2026, in the amount of CHF 800. The appellant did not make this payment and argued that an advance payment is only justified when the examination of the subject matter of the dispute is guaranteed. A second deadline until January 21, 2026, was set, while the request for waiver of the advance payment was denied due to lack of special reasons. This second deadline was also not met. The Federal Court established that the value in dispute did not reach the required minimum threshold of CHF 30,000 according to Art. 74 para. 1 lit. b BGG and that there was no legal question of fundamental importance, so the appeal in civil matters was inadmissible. Additionally, the Federal Court took into account that the appellant did not rely on the reasoning of the cantonal decision but raised general and late objections that could also not be considered. According to Art. 108 para. 1 lit. a and b as well as Art. 117 BGG, the appeal was thus declared inadmissible.
Summary of the Dispositive
The appeal was declared inadmissible, court costs were imposed, and no party compensation was awarded. The judgment will be delivered.
2C_352/2025: Judgment regarding compensation claim in connection with a discontinued disciplinary procedure against a lawyer
Summary of the Facts
The appellant, a lawyer, was subject to a disciplinary investigation by the cantonal lawyer supervision commission of Zug, which accused him of misconduct in connection with an inspection procedure. After the discontinuation of this procedure, he claimed compensation of CHF 31,779.20, which was denied by the Cantonal Court of Zug. The appellant then filed an appeal with the Federal Court.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
7B_1046/2025: Approval of the monitoring of telecommunications
Summary of the Facts
The cantonal investigation office of St. Gallen conducted a criminal procedure against the appellant A.________ for qualified violations of the Narcotics Act. It requested the Cantonal Court for the enforcement of monitoring of her mobile phone number. This measure was approved and communicated after the conclusion of the preliminary proceedings. The appellant subsequently appealed against the approval, which was dismissed by the prosecution chamber of the canton of St. Gallen. In the appeal to the Federal Court, she complained, among other things, about the violation of her right to be heard and the lack of reasoning for the approval.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
7B_166/2024: Unsealing of a mobile phone in a criminal procedure
Summary of the Facts
The public prosecutor's office of Lenzburg-Aarau seized the mobile phone (iPhone 14) of A.________ in the context of a criminal proceeding against him and requested its unsealing. The coercive measures court of the canton of Aargau rejected the request due to insufficient probable cause. The public prosecutor's office of the canton of Aargau appealed to the Federal Court with the aim of overturning the decision and being authorized to search the mobile phone.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
4A_6/2026: Inadmissibility of the appeal
Summary of the Facts
A.________ and B.________ were ordered by the Tribunal des baux et loyers of the canton of Geneva on October 13, 2025, to vacate an apartment and associated cellars immediately. The court authorized the landlord C.________ to enforce the eviction through the police after the deadline. Against this judgment, A.________ unsuccessfully appealed the judgment to the Chambre des baux et loyers of the Cour de justice of the canton of Geneva, which declared the appeal inadmissible on December 9, 2025, due to insufficient reasoning according to Art. 321 para. 2 ZPO. Subsequently, A.________ and B.________ filed an appeal with the Federal Court.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
4A_149/2025: Judgment regarding the reimbursement of retrocessions in the context of a simple bank deposit contract
Summary of the Facts
This case involves a dispute between the plaintiff A.________ AG, a company financing legal disputes, and the defendant B.________ AG, a private bank, regarding the reimbursement of retrocessions. The plaintiff had received a claim from the original account holder C.________ in 2020 based on a simple deposit contract against the defendant. Retrocessions received from the bank amounting to CHF 31,477 for the period from 2010 to 2017 were claimed. Both the first instance and the appellate court rejected the claim.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
4A_115/2025: Inadmissibility of the opening of personal bank accounts for politically exposed persons
Summary of the Facts
A family consisting of politically persecuted persons with refugee status in Switzerland applied to G.________ SA for the opening of personal bank accounts. This was rejected on the grounds that the applicants were politically exposed persons (PEP) and higher due diligence requirements were necessary. An earlier opened account of a family member was also closed. The family made a claim for the opening of such accounts but failed in the lower courts due to local jurisdiction.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
7B_157/2025: Decision not to pursue in a criminal matter
Summary of the Facts
A.________ AG filed a criminal complaint against former officials of its company for disloyal management (Art. 158 StGB) and later also for forgery of documents (Art. 251 StGB). The public prosecutor's office of Bischofszell did not pursue the criminal investigation. A.________ AG then filed an appeal with the Cantonal Court of Thurgau, which dismissed it. A.________ AG filed an appeal in criminal matters with the Federal Court, requesting the opening of an investigation or a referral to the Cantonal Court.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
7B_43/2026: Judgment on not proceeding with an appeal in a recusal procedure
Summary of the Facts
A.________ submitted a 74-page recusal request to the Cantonal Court of Schaffhausen. The Cantonal Court ordered by decision of January 9, 2026, that this be reduced to 20 pages. A.________ appealed this reduction order to the Federal Court.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
9F_23/2025: Judgment on the revision procedure regarding VAT for the years 2015–2019
Summary of the Facts
A request for revision was filed to revise the judgments of the Federal Court of August 20, 2025 (9C_616/2024 and 9C_620/2024). The applicants, a GmbH and its partner A.B.________, requested the annulment of these judgments on the grounds that the part-time federal judge Markus Berger had violated the recusal regulations as he had already been involved in previous proceedings (tax qualification).
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
7B_670/2025: Unsealing of evidence in a criminal case
Summary of the Facts
The Federal Prosecutor's Office conducted a criminal investigation against A.________ for money laundering and violations of the embargo law. During house searches, various physical and electronic evidence was secured and partially sealed. The Federal Prosecutor's Office requested the unsealing of this evidence from the Cantonal Coercive Measures Court of Bern. By decision of June 26, 2025, the unsealing request was largely approved. A.________ and B.________ AG appealed this to the Federal Court.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
8C_67/2025: Judgment on accident insurance in connection with a fatal diving accident
Summary of the Facts
This concerns a fatal diving accident of a Business Development Manager, who died on July 9, 2022, during a dive at a depth of 98 meters. Allianz Suisse Insurance Company AG denied payment of insurance benefits to the wife of the deceased, arguing that the conditions of an accident as defined by law were not met. The Administrative Court of the canton of Thurgau supported this view. The appellant requested the Federal Court to refer the matter for further factual clarifications.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
8C_296/2025: Judgment on re-registration with the invalidity insurance
Summary of the Facts
The appellant A.________, born in 1976, applied multiple times for invalidity insurance, most recently on June 15, 2023. All applications were rejected by the IV office of the canton of Aargau or were not considered because no significant changes in circumstances were credibly demonstrated. The cantonal insurance court dismissed the insured person's appeal against the decision of the IV office from May 14, 2024, after which she filed an appeal in public law matters with the Federal Court.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
8C_231/2025: Accident insurance
Summary of the Facts
A.________, born in 1978, was occupationally accident insured as a housekeeper and cleaning worker. On September 25, 2018, she suffered injuries from a physical attack by her then-husband, resulting in work incapacity and requiring inpatient treatment. AXA Insurance AG ceased benefits by decision of April 19, 2022, arguing that there was no accident causation for the health impairments. The subsequent objection was not addressed by AXA by decision of August 27, 2024, due to insufficient justification. An appeal before the Social Insurance Court of the canton of Zurich was dismissed on February 28, 2025.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
2C_630/2024: Withdrawal of the professional practice permit of a doctor
Summary of the Facts
A.________ was a doctor and held a professional practice permit in the canton of Schwyz until 2030. In 2017, it became known that criminal proceedings were underway against him, including for sexual coercion. In a final criminal proceeding, he was sentenced to 24 months of conditional imprisonment. In 2023, the Office for Health and Social Affairs of the canton of Schwyz permanently withdrew his medical license, which was confirmed by the cantonal authorities.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
4A_603/2025: Inadmissibility of the appeal
Summary of the Facts
The A.________ SA (appellant) filed an appeal with the Federal Court on November 26, 2025, against a judgment of the Civil Chamber of the Geneva Justice Court (Chambre civile de la Cour de justice du canton de Genève), which had rejected its request for suspensive effect for a cantonal legal remedy. The underlying proceedings concerned the provisional legal opening for a claim that B.________ AG asserted against the appellant.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
4A_656/2025: Inadmissibility of the appeal
Summary of the Facts
A.________ was ordered by judgment of the Tribunal des baux et loyers of the canton of Geneva on September 4, 2025, to vacate a ground-floor premises in a building in T.________ along with other persons. The appeal and the request against this judgment were declared inadmissible by the Chamber des baux et loyers of the Cour de justice of the canton of Geneva by decision of December 15, 2025.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
4D_4/2026: Inadmissibility of the appeal
Summary of the Facts
A.________ was ordered by the decision of the Regional Court Jura bernois-Seeland on October 17, 2025, to vacate a house and the associated premises occupied by her by no later than November 3, 2025, at 12:00. Against this decision, A.________ filed an appeal with the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Cantonal Court of Bern on October 30, 2025, which did not proceed on December 3, 2025, due to insufficient fulfillment of the minimum justification requirements by the appellant. On January 10, 2026, A.________ filed an appeal with the Federal Court.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
4A_652/2025: Inadmissibility of the appeal regarding the determination of the fee of a court expert
Summary of the Facts
A fee dispute over CHF 37,000 of a court-appointed expert led to the Federal Court being called. The appellant contested the determination of the fee, which had previously been considered unchallenged by the cantonal instance.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
2C_419/2025: Revocation of the residence permit of a foreign national with a criminal record and expulsion from Switzerland
Summary of the Facts
The Nigerian national A.________, who has lived in Switzerland since 2002, was convicted in 2019 for organized and commercial violations of the Narcotics Act and commercial money laundering to a seven-year prison sentence. These offenses were committed in 2015, prior to the entry into force of new immigration law provisions. Due to repeated criminality, the Office for Population Services of the canton of Bern revoked his residence permit and expelled him from Switzerland. The cantonal legal remedies against this decision were unsuccessful.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
8C_9/2025: Accident insurance: Claim for benefits in cases of accident-like bodily injury
Summary of the Facts
The appellant, born in 1999, sustained an injury to his left knee joint during training. The mandatory accident insurance of the Swiss Mobiliar Insurance Company AG denied benefits on the grounds that there was neither an accident nor an accident-like bodily injury, relying on medical reports that determined a cause predominantly attributable to wear and disease. Objections and appeals to the lower instance were unsuccessful.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
8C_760/2025: Inadmissibility of the appeal regarding unemployment insurance
Summary of the Facts
The appellant contested the termination of the entitlement to unemployment benefits for 33 days, which was decided by the Unia unemployment fund due to self-inflicted unemployment and confirmed by the Social Insurance Court of the canton of Zurich. The unemployment resulted from a mutual, immediate termination of the employment contract, although it would have been reasonable for the appellant to remain until the expiration of the ordinary notice period despite health problems.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
6F_41/2025: Inadmissibility of the request for revision
Summary of the Facts
The applicant A.________ requests in a submission dated November 29, 2025, for the revision of the Federal Court judgment 6B_358/2025 of November 5, 2025. He requests the approval of the request, the annulment of the judgment, the granting of compensation, his release from custody, and the conduct of an oral hearing.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
7B_1218/2025: Not proceeding with an appeal against a decision on unsealing
Summary of the Facts
The appellant A.________ filed an appeal with the Federal Court against a decision of the coercive measures court of the canton of Thurgau dated April 4, 2025, concerning the unsealing. He claimed to be a harmed party of the investigated offenses. A supplement to the appeal was submitted on November 12, 2025. No responses were obtained.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
8C_725/2024: Judgment on re-registration with the invalidity insurance and on the question of revision law assessment
Summary of the Facts
A.________, most recently working as a road marker, applied for invalidity insurance in 2007 due to a whiplash injury. The request was rejected in 2009 as no relevant health damage was determined. This decision was not contested. In 2019, a new application was made citing the whiplash injury sustained in 2005. After inquiries, including a report from estimed AG, the IV office of Lucerne rejected the request in 2023, stating that there was no ground for revision. The Cantonal Court of Lucerne dismissed an appeal against this in 2024.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
9C_716/2025: Inadmissibility of the appeal
Summary of the Facts
A.________ filed an appeal against the judgment of the Cantonal Court of Vaud, Cour des assurances sociales, dated December 2, 2025, in which her appeal against the rejection of a new request for benefits by the Office for Invalidity Insurance of the canton of Vaud was dismissed. The appeal to the Federal Court dated December 23, 2025, was subsequently supplemented on January 14, 2026, by an additional submission.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
4D_232/2025: Inadmissibility of an appeal against a decision to discontinue in connection with a legal opening
Summary of the Facts
The appellant A.________ filed an appeal with the Federal Court against the discontinuation decision of the Cour civile des Tribunal cantonal du canton de Neuchâtel dated November 24, 2025. The subject of the underlying proceedings was the legal opening of a claim of CHF 833.95 as well as the exemption from the obligation to pay party compensation of CHF 400 as decided by the Tribunal civil des Montagnes et du Val-de-Ruz. In the further course of the cantonal proceedings, A.________ withdrew the originally lodged objection. The Federal Court examined both the formal and material requirements of the appeal.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.
7B_1356/2025: Inadmissibility of the recusal request
Summary of the Facts
A.________ filed a recusal request with the Cantonal Court of Zurich, which did not proceed with it by decision of November 24, 2025, due to late submission. A.________ then appealed to the Federal Court.
Complete summary of the judgment can be found in the portal.