Facts
The case concerns an appellant who filed a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court against a decision of the lower court. The lower court had sentenced the appellant to a conditional prison sentence of 18 months and an additional unconditional fine of 180 daily rates at 3,000 Swiss francs each.
The appellant argued that the additional unconditional fine of 180 daily rates was disproportionate to the conditional prison sentence of 18 months and violated Art. 42 Para. 4 of the Swiss Criminal Code. He requested either to completely waive the additional fine or to impose a maximum fine of 10 daily rates.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court partially upheld the complaint. It stated that according to its case law on Art. 42 Para. 4 of the Swiss Criminal Code, the additional unconditional fine may only have a subordinate significance. However, a ratio of three quarters conditional prison sentence to one quarter additional unconditional fine was not compatible with this case law.
In order to not disregard Art. 42 Para. 4 of the Swiss Criminal Code and to observe the prohibition of aggravation, the…