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If the incapacity for work is only partial, the pension shall be reduced in proportion.

If the insured person has merely lost a limb, the pension shall be determined according to the circumstances.

36. If the invalidity subsequently turns out to be essentially different in degree from that ascertained until then, or if the invalidity has entirely disappeared, the future pension shall be either increased, reduced or suppressed. The re-assessed pension shall also be based on the annual earnings admitted when first fixing the pension.

The pension may be re-assessed at any time in the case of any life or temporary pension.

Should the sickness or accident produce at some later period any unforeseen consequences, the Chief Medical Officer shall grant to the patient, if necessary, the benefit of hospital treatment or treatment at home, without prejudice to the invalidity pension.

37. The right to a pension shall be suspended during the continuance of any punishment depriving the insured person of his liberty or during his internment in a house of correction or a reformatory institution, should the said deprivation of liberty exceed three months.

If the insured person has relations who, at his death, might claim benefits, the whole or some part of his pension may, during the term of his detention, be allotted to them if they are in needy circumstances.

38. The pension shall be replaced by a capital indemnity, should it appear probable that, by resuming his occupation after the settlement of his claims, the insured person will recover his capacity for work. The indemnity shall correspond to the loss of earnings to which, in all probability, the insured person is still subject.

39. Should an insured person die, the allowance for temporary invalidity on the invalidity pension shall cease to be due as from the date of death.

Should the insured person have died in consequence of any sickness or accident covered by the military insurance, the said payments shall be replaced by :

(1) The funeral expenses.

(2) Survivors' pensions.

40. The military insurance department shall reimburse to the survivors funeral expenses up to the amount of forty francs.

41. The surviving relations of the insured person shall be entitled to an annual pension, which shall commence from the day following that of the death and correspond to a portion of the annual earnings of the deceased, fixed in conformity with §§25 and 35.

42. The widow shall be entitled to the pension as long as she does not re-marry. Her pension shall amount to 40 per cent. of the annual earnings of the deceased. Should she re-marry she shall receive, by way of settlement for her pension, three times its annual amount.

A divorced or judicially separated wife shall be entitled to the pension in so far as, during his lifetime, the deceased was under the obligation to contribute to her maintenance. The said pension shall amount to 40 per cent. of the annual earnings of the deceased, if he had been bound to provide entirely for her maintenance; if he was only partly under such obligation, the pension shall be reduced in proportion. In no case shall it exceed the extent of the obligation of the husband.

Should the death of the insured person give rise to more than one of the claims mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2, the total of the said pensions shall not exceed 50 per cent. of the annual earnings of the deceased. If necessary, the amount of such pensions shall be reduced to the said maximum by a proportionate reduction. The extinction of one of the said pensions shall benefit the other persons entitled to such pensions up to the amount of 50 per cent. Nevertheless, no single pension shall exceed 40 per cent. When distributing the total pension between the various persons entitled thereto, due consideration shall be given to the whole of the circumstances.

43. The legitimate children born or to be born to the insured person shall also be entitled to a pension; and also children who, at the time of the sickness or the accident, had already been legally adopted or legitimised, as well as the illegitimate children of the insured person, provided that the paternity has been established by an executory judgment or by a written bona fide acknowledgment of the deceased.

The pension for each child shall amount to 15 per cent. of the annual earnings of the insured person, should the latter have left a widow or a divorced or judicially separated wife, for whose maintenance he was bound to provide or to which he was bound to contribute. In the contrary case or when the pensions of the aforesaid persons cease to be due, the annuity shall amount to 25 per cent. for each child.

The pension for each child shall continue up to the age of 18, or, if at that age the child is suffering from an infirmity which incapacitates him or her from work, as long as such disablement lasts.

44. The pensions of the widow and children or those of the divorced or judicially separated wife and of the children shall not exceed 65 per cent. of the annual earnings of the deceased. If necessary, the total of the said pensions shall be reduced to 65 per cent. and to the rates fixed in §42, first and second paragraphs, and $43.

Whenever the death of an insured person gives rise, concurrently with. the claim of the children to the pension, to the case provided for in §42, third paragraph, the total of the said pensions shall not exceed 65 per cent. of the annual earnings of the deceased. If necessary, the total of the said pensions shall be reduced to 65 per cent. by the reduction of the pensions of the various persons entitled thereto. Should one of such pensions become extinct, the annuity which has thus become available shall be used for the purpose of increasing the other pensions, up to the amount of the rates fixed in §§42

and 43.

In the distribution of the total amounts provided for in the Act, amongst the various persons entitled thereto, due regard shall be had to the whole of the circumstances.

45. Should the deceased not have left either widow or children or a divorced or judicially separated wife, for whose maintenance he had been bound to provide or to which he had to contribute, or should their claims become extinct, the father or mother of the deceased shall be entitled to a pension which may amount to 20 per cent., and the two together shall be entitled to a pension which may amount to 35 per cent. of the annual earnings of the deceased. The said pensions shall only be due if the insured person, at the time of his death, contributed to the maintenance of his parents, or if the circumstances permit the assumption that he would have contributed to such maintenance later on.

The said pensions shall be fixed by duly taking into account all the circumstances and, in particular, the income of the parents and the amount of the actual or probable contribution to their maintenance by the deceased. They shall only be due so long as the persons entitled thereto are in needy circumstances.

46. Should the parents not receive any pensions, the grandparents shall be substituted for them and, should the grandparents not receive any pension, the brothers and sisters of the deceased shall be substituted for them.

$45 shall apply to the said pensions, provided that for a single person the annuity shall not exceed 15 per cent. and for several persons 25 per cent. of the annual earnings of the deceased, and that the annuity of the brothers and sisters shall only be paid to them up to the time of their attaining the age of

18 years.

47. If the insured person would not have been entitled to the full pension, the pensions of his survivors shall be reduced in proportion.

48. Survivors who, at the time of the insured person's death, were of foreign nationality and resided abroad shall not be entitled to pensions.

49. If the insured person became disabled or died in consequence of his exposing himself voluntarily to a serious danger in the interests of his country, the Federal Council may raise his invalidity pension or the pensions of his survivors to double their ordinary amount.

50. Any invalidity or survivor's pension, the annual amount of which is less than 100 francs, the beneficiary of which is residing abroad, may be redeemed at any time, even against the wish of the beneficiary.

In any other case, redemption shall only take place by way of exception and upon request of the beneficiary.

Any pension redeemed with the consent of the beneficiary concerned shall be finally settled. Any pensioner whose pension has been redeemed against his wish, may, in the case provided for in §36, first paragraph, demand that his pension shall be re-assessed; should the disablement have been seriously aggravated, the military insurance shall provide a special pension for him or raise the price of redemption.

51. The Federal Council shall appoint, for a period of three years, a Pension Committee consisting of seven members. The chief medical officer shall attend the meetings of the Committee in a consultative capacity.

The Pension Committee, when having before them the records in question and the report and proposals of the chief medical officer, shall decide on the allotment and the amount of the pensions and of the capital indemnities. They shall withdraw, modify, suspend or redeem the pensions and fix the periods for their commencement and cessation.

By way of exception and without waiting for the decision of the Pension Committee, the Department may, upon the proposal of the Chief Medical Officer, order the payment of advances on a pension.

52. The Federal Council shall issue regulations for the Pension Committee.

53. As soon as the decision fixing a pension has become executory, the Swiss Military Department shall deliver a pension certificate to the person entitled thereto.

Whenever any pension is revised, the certificate shall be rectified.

54. The pensions shall be paid in monthly instalments; they shall be due on the first day of every month.

As regards the pensions which commence after the first of the month, the portion of the instalment corresponding to the days of the month, which have not yet elapsed shall be due on the first day of the following month.

If a pension expires, or is suspended, reduced or increased during the course of any month, its former amount shall still apply to the days of the month, which have not yet elapsed.

Annual pensions not exceeding 150 francs may be paid quarterly, in advance.

55. An appeal may be brought before the Federal Insurance Court :(1) Within 10 days, by the insured person against the decisions of the

Chief Medical Oficer concerning treatment at home;

(2) Within 10 days, by the insured person or his survivors, against the decisions of the Chief Medical Officer, with respect to an unemployment allowance;

(3) Within 30 days, by the Military Department, as well as by the insured person or his survivors, against the decisions of the Pension Committee.

The above periods shall commence from the date on which the decision appealed from has been notified.

With every decision, the right of appeal to the Federal Insurance Court and the period for such appeal shall be stated.

The Federal Assembly shall determine the procedure to be followed before the Federal Insurance Court.

(C.) RELATIONS WITH THE SWISS NATIONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE FUND IN LUCERNE.

56. If any person insured in virtue of the present Act is also compulsorily a member of the National Accident Insurance Fund in Lucerne, the insurance of the said Fund shall remain in suspense and the insured person shall be solely entitled to the benefits provided for in this Act.

57. Whenever a person compulsorily insured with the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund in Lucerne enters the military service while unknowingly suffering from the consequences of an accident or of an industrial disease insured against, or if he makes known the consequences of an accident or of a sickness at latest at the time of entering the service, and is not discharged, the Civil Insurance and the Military Insurance shall bear jointly the loss covered by the insurance, should the military service aggravate the consequences of the said accident or sickness.

This charge shall be shared by the two insurance institutions in proportion as the loss incurred by the insured person through the accident or industrial disease is probably attributable either to the accident or the sickness itself or to the aggravation resulting from military service. The loss shall be made good in conformity with §58.

The two insurance institutions shall determine by common agreement the proportionate share falling to each of them. Should they not be able to agree, the matter in dispute shall be decided by the Federal Insuranec Court, whose decision shall be binding upon all the interested parties.

58. The payment of benefits for temporary invalidity shall be effected by the Military Insurance Department in conformity with the provisions of the present Act. The said benefits shall be repaid to the Military Insurance Department by the Civil Insurance Fund in the proportion fixed in §57, the cost of hospital treatment being calculated according to the tariff fixed by the agreements in force.

BULLETIN

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The payment of the benefits for permanent invalidity shall be effected by each of the two insurance institutions, as regards the share falling to it, in virtue of $57 and in conformity with the Act governing the insurance.

Should the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund in Lucerne have transferred the insurance, as far as medical and pharmaceutical attendance and unemployment allowances are concerned, to a recognised sickness insurance fund, it shall be bound to have the insurance re-conveyed to itself.

59. In the cases referred to in §57, the Military Insurance Department shall notify the Civil Insurance Fund as promptly as possible of the sickness of the insured person.

The latter Department shall inform the Military Insurance Department of all the circumstances having reference to the accident or the industrial disease, in so far as they have manifested themselves before the military insurance commenced.

60. As regards persons voluntarily insured with the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund in Lucerne, who also come under the military insurance, the Federal Assembly shall determine the relations between the two insurances, by regulating the conditions of voluntary insurance (§116 of the Federal Act, dated 13th June, 1911,* respecting sickness and accident insurance).

(D.) EXPENSES AND ADMINISTRATION.

61. The Confederation shall bear all the expenses resulting from the military insurance subject to §1, second paragraph, of this Act.

The Federal Assembly shall establish, in the annual Budget, the necessary credits :

(a) for the administration of the military insurance;

(b) for the benefits to be granted in case of temporary invalidity; (c) for the benefits to be granted in case of permanent invalidity; (d) for the payment of pensions constituted before the present Act had come into force.

The Federal Assembly shall decide on the mode of covering the pensions in case of war, or of active service of long duration, for which a large portion of the army might be called up, and in case of epidemics or of disasters of particular seriousness, by reason of the number of victims.

62. The Swiss Military Department shall administer the military insurance through the Chief Medical Officer, with the co-operation of the technical experts of the Confederation. The necessary staff shall be attached to the Chief Medical Officer.

The Federal Council shall issue administrative regulations in connection with this matter.

63. The Military Insurance Department shall institute a system of supervision as required in the various parts of the country. The Federal Council shall organise the said service and fix the remuneration due to its agents.

64. The Military Insurance Department shall keep distinct accounts with respect to the benefits of the insurance, the reserve capital and the guarantee

fund.

*Text G.B. XI., p. 174. English translation in the Bulletin of the Bureau of Labour, Washington; No. 103 (August, 1912).

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