Facts
On October 1, 2002, the French authorities sent the Swiss authorities a request for international judicial assistance in the context of a criminal proceeding opened against an unknown person for money laundering. On April 2, 2003, the Federal Criminal Police conducted a search of the headquarters of company [A.] in Geneva, based on this request for assistance. Certain seized documents were sealed at the request of the lawyer for company [A.], who invoked professional secrecy. On November 6, 2003, the Federal Investigating Judge presented a request to lift the seals to the Indictment Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court, which transferred the request to the Federal Criminal Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court examines the admissibility of the requests submitted to it and may transfer them to the competent authority, even if it has not been designated in the initial request.
In this case, the search was ordered by the Office of the Attorney General of the Confederation in the context of a federal criminal proceeding opened on January 31, 2002, in addition to the execution of the request for international judicial assistance. Therefore, the jurisdiction to rule on the lifting of the seals falls to the Complaints Chamber of the Federal…