Facts
The Public Prosecutor's Office III of the Canton of Zurich was investigating [X.] and other persons for various offenses against property. During a house search on May 26, 2010, it seized files and data, including three CD-ROMs with data that were sealed at the request of [X.] .
On October 17, 2011, the Public Prosecutor's Office applied to the High Court of the Canton of Zurich as the court for coercive measures for the unsealing of the data. Since the Public Prosecutor's Office had not complied with the 20-day deadline under Art. 248 para. 2 CPC for filing the application for unsealing, the High Court did not enter into the application on November 18, 2011.
Subsequently, the Public Prosecutor's Office released the data carriers but seized them again on November 25, 2011. [X.] then requested the sealing of the data carriers, as their renewed seizure was an abuse of rights. The Public Prosecutor's Office rejected this and ordered the search of the data carriers on December 1, 2011.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court held that the 20-day deadline under Art. 248 para. 2 CPC for filing an application for unsealing is not merely an administrative provision but a mandatory statutory deadline. The renewed seizure of previously released items is generally only permissible if the legal or factual circumstances have changed since the last seizure.
In the present case, however, it had to be taken into account that this was a transitional case in…