Facts
The appellant [X.] was charged by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Zurich for various offenses. The proceedings were ultimately discontinued, as [X.] was found to be not criminally liable according to an expert opinion. The High Court of the Canton of Zurich awarded [X.] compensation of CHF 18,180 for his unjustified pre-trial detention. [X.] filed a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court and requested that the compensation be subject to 5% default interest from August 20, 2014.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court partially upheld the complaint. It stated that according to established case law, compensation like damages is to be subject to interest from the time of the damaging event. The unjustified pre-trial detention constituted the event triggering the interest in the present case. Since the compensation was awarded at a constant…