Facts
The case concerns the question of whether the complainant A. was allowed to be defended by his stepfather B. in the petty offence criminal proceedings, even though B. is not licensed as a lawyer.
A. was convicted by the District Court of Rheintal and the Cantonal Court of St. Gallen for multiple violations of the Narcotics Act. Subsequently, A. filed a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court and requested to be acquitted or the proceedings against him to be discontinued. Alternatively, the case should be remanded to the lower instance for re-assessment.
A. claimed that the lower instance had violated his right to be defended by B. The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the complaint.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court stated that according to Art. 127 para. 5 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), the defence of the accused person is reserved for lawyers who are entitled to represent parties before judicial authorities under the Lawyers Act. The reservation in favour of lawyers licensed under the Lawyers Act serves the interests of the public and the administration of justice.
The second sentence of Art. 127 para. 5 CPC allows the cantons to provide for deviating provisions for petty offence criminal proceedings and to also admit non-lawyers. However, the Lawyers Act of the…