Facts
The Federal Court was seized of a criminal appeal by A. against the judgment of 6 October 2016 of the Criminal Appeal Court of the Cantonal Court of the canton of Vaud. The appellant requested the reform of the judgment in the sense that X. be condemned to pay him the sums of 30'000 fr., plus interest, as moral damages, and 29'000 fr., plus interest, as compensation based on art. 433 CrimPC.
The Federal Court had previously annulled the judgment of 12 June 2015 of the Criminal Appeal Court and referred the case to the cantonal authority for a new decision, considering that the motivation of the cantonal court did not allow to understand if the compensation fixed by the first instance authority on the basis of art. 433 CrimPC had been reduced because the lawyer's fee notes presented by A. were not clear, or because it had estimated that the operations described therein were not necessary for the criminal procedure.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of whether the compensation based on art. 433 CrimPC should produce interest. It considered that this compensation does not aim to repair the damage suffered by the plaintiff, but to reimburse his expenses.
The doctrine is divided on the question of the production of interest on claims based on art. 429 ss CrimPC. Some authors advocate for the application of the general principles of civil liability, while others consider that the compensation based on art. 433 CrimPC should be considered…