Facts
The appellant M., who did not have a lawyer's license, advised N. in three civil proceedings. When N. withdrew the mandate and demanded the immediate return of the files and information on the status of the proceedings, M. was only willing to do so against payment of a deposit of 3,000 Swiss francs for his alleged outstanding fee claim of 4,500 Swiss francs. The District Court of Lenzburg convicted M. of coercion and imposed a fine of 4,000 Swiss francs. The High Court of the Canton of Aargau upheld the first-instance decision.
M. filed an appeal against nullity with the request to set aside the judgment of the High Court. The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court stated that M. had committed a criminal offense under Article 181 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB) by coercing N. to make a deposit payment in order to obtain the files through the threat of serious disadvantages. The possibility of countering the threatened disadvantage through legal means does not automatically negate its seriousness.
The Federal Supreme Court denied the appellant an obligatory right of retention over the files. According to the case law and prevailing doctrine, such a right is excluded for non-realizable objects such as files. The obligation to return the…