Facts
On April 9, 2016, persons under the name "Group C." occupied a house in Lucerne. The owner, B. AG, filed a criminal complaint for trespass against unknown perpetrators on April 20, 2016. On the same day, the journalist A. was present in the occupied house for research purposes and subsequently published an article.
The public prosecutor's office then issued two penal orders against A. for trespass, which were confirmed by the courts.
Considerations
A. filed a criminal appeal against the judgment of the Cantonal Court. She argued that the criminal complaint was directed only against the house occupiers and not against media professionals like her, who had merely entered the house for research purposes.
The Federal Supreme Court upheld the appeal. It stated that a criminal complaint under Art. 30 of the Swiss Criminal Code can only be filed for acts already committed, not preemptively for possible future offenses. However, in the case of continuous offenses such as trespass under Art. 186 of the Swiss Criminal Code, the effects of the criminal complaint generally also extend to participants who join the ongoing offense after the complaint has been filed.
The prerequisite is that the subsequently involved persons can be attributed the reported (criminal) conduct according to the substantive legal forms of participation. Accomplices who cooperate significantly in the execution of the…