Facts
The complainant X. was convicted by the District Court of Zurich for incitement to a qualified violation of the Narcotics Act, multiple trespassing and multiple minor thefts, and sentenced to an unconditional prison term of 14 months and a fine of Fr. 300.-. X. appealed against this conviction, which was partially upheld by the Higher Court of the Canton of Zurich. X. then filed a complaint in criminal matters, requesting that the higher court's judgment be partially overturned and that he be acquitted of the charge of incitement to a qualified violation of the Narcotics Act.
The lower court based its decision on the incriminating statements of C., who had already been convicted in a separate criminal case. X. complained of a violation of Art. 141 para. 2 and Art. 178 lit. f CrimPC and argued that C. should be questioned as an informant and not as a witness.
Considerations
1. Introduction
The Federal Court had to decide whether a person who was convicted in a separate proceeding could be heard as a witness in a later criminal case against a co-perpetrator.
2. Legal basis
The Criminal Procedure Code (CrimPC) provides for three different variants for hearing persons: hearing of the accused person, hearing of witnesses and hearing of informants. The person to be heard is to be questioned according to the facts and law at the time of the hearing.
3. Decision
The Federal Court decided that a person who was convicted in a separate proceeding for the offense to be clarified or a related crime is, in principle, to be heard as a…