Appointment of Court Experts by the Federal Investigating Judge

Facts

This case concerned the appointment of court experts by the Deputy of the Federal Investigating Judge in a criminal proceeding against [N.], [F.], [K.] and [H.] for various offenses. Previously, the Federal Prosecutor's Office had appointed three inspectors from the Federal Tax Administration as experts in the criminal investigation proceedings.

The appellants [N.], [F.], [K.] and [H.] requested the revocation of this appointment, as the inspectors had previously been involved in the investigation proceedings of the Federal Prosecutor's Office.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court upheld the appeals. It stated that the experts called upon by the Federal Prosecutor's Office in the investigation proceedings had already acted in another capacity and therefore could not be appointed as court experts within the meaning of Art. 91 et seq. BStP pursuant to Art. 22 para. 1 lit. b OG.

The Federal Supreme Court emphasized that the Federal Prosecutor's Office and the Investigating Judge represent two clearly separate procedural stages. The specialists called upon by the Federal Prosecutor's Office had the status of authorities or assistants of the Federal Prosecutor's Office and were subject to their management or supervision. In contrast,…