Facts
The case concerns a defendant residing in Brazil who entered Switzerland on January 7, 2019, coming from Germany via the Basel/Weil-Autobahn border crossing. During the border check, he was reported for entering without a valid travel document and without a visa. He was presented with a form to either indicate a contact person residing in Switzerland as a Swiss address for service or to name the address of an employee of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Basel-Stadt as the address for service. The defendant opted for the latter option. By order of April 9, 2019, the Public Prosecutor's Office convicted the defendant for illegal entry and sent a copy of the order with registered mail to the defendant's residential address in Brazil. The defendant raised objections against the order and its service. The Public Prosecutor's Office appealed against the decision of the Court of Appeal, which declared the order null and void and returned the files for the issuance of a new order and its service by means of mutual legal assistance.
Considerations
The Public Prosecutor's Office requested the annulment of the contested decision and the determination that the order of April 9, 2019, had become final. The Federal Court dismissed the appeal. The election of a Swiss address for service at the Public Prosecutor's Office by a defendant residing in Brazil is not effective. Such an election cannot trigger the objection period. In the present case, no opening of the order by direct postal service abroad or by means of 'deemed service' was permissible; the order must be…