Facts
On April 24, 2009, [A.] was sentenced to a custodial sentence of nine years for the intentional killing of his sister-in-law, without any measure being ordered. After the expiration of the sentence on January 16, 2017, the Department of Criminal Justice and Measures Enforcement applied to the Regional Court for an inpatient therapeutic measure or detention. The Regional Court then ordered preventive detention.
On March 24, 2017, the Court of Compulsory Measures contacted the Child and Adult Protection Authority (KESB) Oberaargau and requested the involuntary placement of A. The KESB then ordered the involuntary placement of [A.] in the G. Foundation in U. on March 30, 2017.
[A.] appealed against this decision. The High Court of the Canton of Bern remanded the case back to the KESB for re-assessment. With a decision dated March 14, 2019, the KESB confirmed the involuntary placement again.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court notes that according to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), involuntary placement solely on the basis of a risk to others is only permissible if the law clearly defines that there is a significant risk that the person concerned could cause serious harm to third parties.
The Federal Supreme Court has previously ruled that Article 426 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) does not provide a sufficient legal basis for placement solely on the basis of a risk to…