Josef Albisser was the first president of the Swiss Federal Insurance Court, which was the highest federal social security court, and which commenced hearing cases in Lucerne in January 1918. In early 2007 the Court merged with the Federal Supreme Court as the unitary supreme law authority of Switzerland. Josef Albisser was born 25 February 1868 in Büron, Canton of Lucerne. He read law and economics in Bern, Leipzig and Munich, and was admitted to the Lucerne bar in 1892. From 1895-1915 he worked as an attorney in Lucerne.
He was also editor of the workers’ newspaper “Demokrat” from 1893-1900 and served at times as president of the Grütliverein, a patriotic association of journeymen and workers formed in 1838 which eventually merged with the Social Democratic Party (SP). He founded the SP of the Canton of Lucerne in 1890 and was the first president of SP Switzerland from 1901-1902 or 1903. He had a lasting influence on various trade unions in the transport sector. In light of his political and trade union activities it was natural for him to become involved in the new federal social security institutions. The federal law of 1911 established compulsory accident insurance for workers as the first social insurance scheme at the federal level. The Swiss National Accident Insurance Institute was formed as administrative instance, and the path for legal complaint against its decisions was via the cantonal insurance courts and then the Federal Insurance Court. Josef Albisser was a member of the board of directors of the Swiss National Accident Insurance Institute from its inception until he was appointed as Federal Insurance Court justice in 1917. He was President of the Court from 1917-1922, and a justice until 1929. Before, during and after his service on the Supreme Social Security Court he held several political offices for the city and Canton of Lucerne. He is described as a great fighter for the social improvement of the working class, and as a promoter of workers’ education. He died in Lucerne on 25 September 1943. In 1918 he penned the introduction to the text, published in Zurich, of “Proceedings before the Federal Insurance Court, including the Federal Council decisions of 26 December 1917 and of 4 January and 6 April 1918”. (https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/010541/2001-04-17/)