Facts
On 23 March 2011, Y. GmbH filed a criminal complaint against X. for property damage. The Public Prosecutor's Office of Basel-Landschaft opened criminal proceedings but discontinued them on 11 August 2011, as the alleged offence could not be proven with sufficient certainty. X. then filed a complaint and requested compensation for his defence costs. The Federal Supreme Court upheld the complaint and remanded the case to the lower court for re-examination.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court held that pursuant to Art. 429(1)(a) CrimPC, the accused person is entitled to compensation for their expenses for the appropriate exercise of their procedural rights if the proceedings are discontinued or the person is acquitted. This depends on both the necessity of engaging a lawyer and the reasonableness of the effort expended by the lawyer.
The Federal Supreme Court considered the engagement of a lawyer in the present case to be justified, as it was a misdemeanour and the proceedings were persistently pursued despite the…