Facts
The Public Prosecutor's Office III of the Canton of Zurich has been conducting criminal proceedings against the complainant [A.] since 2012 for fraud and other offenses. These proceedings were stayed in 2015 and have not been resumed to date. In 2016, the same Public Prosecutor's Office initiated further criminal proceedings against [A.] for multiple misappropriation, qualified breach of trust in business management, and other offenses. On March 11, 2020, the Public Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against [A.] with the District Court of Zurich. [A.] requested that the District Court be found territorially incompetent for these proceedings and that it issue a non-consideration decision. The District Court and the High Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed this request. [A.] has filed a criminal law appeal against this with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court has decided that the District Court of Zurich is territorially competent to adjudicate the alleged facts. According to Art. 34 para. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), the authorities of the place where the offense punishable by the most severe penalty was committed are competent to prosecute and adjudicate all acts of an accused person. Although the proceedings initiated against [A.] in 2012 were stayed, they are considered to be pending concurrently for the determination of territorial jurisdiction, as…