Authorization to open a criminal investigation against an expert appointed by the Disability Insurance

Facts

The case concerns a doctor (Prof. Dr. med. [A.] ), who was appointed as an expert by the Disability Insurance (IV) of the Canton of St. Gallen to prepare a multidisciplinary medical expert opinion on the insured person [B.] . [B.] subsequently filed a criminal complaint against [A.] and another doctor for fraud and false assessment. The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Zurich requested authorization to open a criminal investigation for forgery in office, alternatively for false medical certification or false certification.

The High Court of the Canton of Zurich did not enter into the request and referred the matter to the Indictment Chamber of the Canton of St. Gallen, as it was of the opinion that [A.] was not a Zurich civil servant.

[A.] then filed a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court concluded that [A.] held a quasi-official position in his capacity as an expert for the IV, even though he was not directly employed by the cantonal IV office, but through an expert center commissioned by the Federal Office of Social Insurance (BSV).

The cantonal IV offices have a coordination function in the assignment of expert opinions, but the actual assignment is made through a web-based platform operated by the BSV on a random basis. The conditions for the preparation of the expert opinions are also regulated in an agreement between the BSV and the expert centers, in which the cantonal IV offices are not involved.