Concordat on Judicial Assistance for the Enforcement of Public Law Claims, of April 15/16, 1970, October 13, 1970, and October 28, 1971 - Judicial Assistance

1. The concordat cantons provide assistance in the enforcement of public law claims that involve the payment of money or the provision of securities in favor of the canton or municipalities, as well as corporations, institutions, and associations with a specific purpose established by them.

2. Judicial assistance is granted through the means of the definitive release in the enforcement proceedings.

Enforceable are judgments or decisions (including tax assessments) that have become final, which originate from an administrative or judicial authority and which the legislation of the canton where they were issued equates to an enforceable judgment within the meaning of Article 80, paragraph 2, of the Federal Law of April 11, 1889, on Debt Collection and Bankruptcy [1].

The enforceability implies that the procedure followed to determine the public law claims has met the following requirements

a) the respondent must have had the opportunity to express themselves on the merits, to file a complaint with the authority that adjudicated, or to seek another remedy guaranteeing the examination of the facts;

b) the respondent's attention must have been drawn to the ordinary appeal available against the judgment or decision; the notice must indicate the appellate authority and the deadline for appeal.

It is produced before the judge for release

a) a complete transcript of the decision or judgment or, as the case may be, an extract from the tax register;

b) a declaration from the authority before which an appeal or a claim could have been lodged, certifying that the decision or judgment has become final, or, as the case may be, a declaration from the tax authority certifying that the assessment has become final;

c) a declaration from the authority which issued the decision, certifying that the procedural conditions outlined in Article 3 have been met;

d) the legal provisions from which it follows that the decision or judgment is equated to an enforceable judgment according to Article 80, paragraph 2, of the Federal Act of April 11, 1889, on Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy.

The enforcement judge shall ex officio examine whether the conditions for enforceability under Articles 2 and 3 are fulfilled.

The defendant may raise the following defenses

a) evidence by document that the debt has been extinguished or that a deferment has been obtained subsequent to the judgment;

b) prescription;

c) the lack of jurisdiction of the cantonal authority that rendered the judgment, the fact that they were not duly summoned or legally represented;

d) the fact that the decision was not communicated to them in the manner prescribed by law.

1. Each canton may adhere to the concordat. The declaration of adherence is submitted to the Federal Department of Justice and Police for the attention of the Federal Council.

2. A canton wishing to denounce the concordat must submit a declaration to the Federal Department of Justice and Police for the attention of the Federal Council. The denunciation only takes effect at the end of the calendar year following the year in which it was notified.

The concordat comes into force for the cantons that have concluded it upon its publication in the Official Federal Gazette of Laws and, for the cantons that adhere to it subsequently, upon the publication of their accession in the said gazette.

**Adhesion of a Canton to the Present Concordat**

The adhesion of a canton to the present concordat renders void, in its relations with the other concordat cantons, the concordat of February 18, 1911, concerning reciprocal guarantees for the legal execution of obligations arising from public law, and the concordat of June 29, 1945, concerning the enforced execution of the obligation to reimburse public assistance funds.

Concordat approved by the Federal Council on November 20, 1971.