Facts
On 30 September 1999, the Federal Republic of Nigeria announced its intention to request judicial assistance from Switzerland to investigate cases of embezzlement of public funds involving the late Sani Abacha's close associates. On 28 October 1999, the Public Prosecutor of the Canton of Geneva opened a criminal investigation for criminal organization and money laundering. The Federal Republic of Nigeria filed a criminal complaint and was admitted as a civil party in the criminal proceedings. The Investigating Judge granted the Federal Republic of Nigeria access to the file of the criminal proceedings, which the appellants, Abacha and Bagudu, contested, arguing that it violated the rules of judicial assistance.
The appellants filed a public law appeal against the Investigating Judge's decision, which was rejected by the Indictment Chamber. The appellants then appealed to the Federal Court, which converted the public law appeal into an administrative law appeal and annulled the decisions under appeal.
Considerations
The Federal Court considered that the assistance procedure and the criminal procedure were closely linked and that the Investigating Judge's decision had influenced the course of the assistance procedure. The Federal Court also estimated that the Investigating Judge's decision had caused immediate and irreparable harm to the appellants, as the Federal Republic of Nigeria had obtained documents and information that it would not have been able to obtain through judicial assistance.
The Federal Court recalled that judicial assistance can only be granted after the entry into force of the closure order and that the Swiss authorities cannot transmit documents or information to the requesting State before this stage. The Federal Court also emphasized that the…