Facts
The Federal Court had to rule on a complaint in criminal matters filed by A. against the judgment of the High Court of the Canton of Bern. A. was convicted of attempted violence and threats against authorities and officials as well as attempted coercion and sentenced to an unconditional fine of 30 daily rates. A. requested the annulment of the judgment and his acquittal of guilt and punishment.
The Federal Court dismissed the complaint and clarified the case law on Art. 159 para. 1 CrimPC. According to this, the right of the accused person to have their defense present during police interrogations in criminal proceedings applies exclusively to the police interrogation of the accused person.
Considerations
The Federal Court justified its decision by stating that Art. 159 para. 1 CrimPC does not explicitly regulate which police interrogations in criminal proceedings the defense is entitled to participate in. However, the systematics of the law and the legislative history of Art. 159 para. 1 CrimPC suggest that the defense's right to participate should be limited to interrogations of the accused person alone.
The Federal Court relied on the federal message, which explicitly provides that the defense's right to participate in police investigations should be limited to interrogations of the accused person alone. The rewording of Art. 156 para. 1 of the draft into the current Art. 159 para. 1 CrimPC was done solely to clarify that it is about the right of the accused person to have an attorney present and not primarily about the defense's right…