Facts
In the context of a criminal proceeding conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Bern against A. for serious offenses against the Federal Act on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, the Compulsory Measures Court authorized the surveillance of the location of the defendant's motor vehicle by means of the installation of a GPS beacon. During this surveillance, it was found that the vehicle had driven at excessive speeds on four occasions.
The Public Prosecutor's Office then requested the Compulsory Measures Court to authorize the use of these fortuitous discoveries in the criminal proceedings against A. However, the cantonal court annulled this decision and ordered the destruction of the evidence collected.
The Attorney General's Office of the Public Prosecutor's Office then filed a criminal appeal against this decision, arguing that the legal conditions for allowing the use of the fortuitous discoveries were met.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal rejected the appeal. It considered that the installation of a GPS beacon is subject to the conditions set out in Art. 269 CrimPC, in particular the existence of serious suspicions regarding one of the offenses listed in Art. 269 para. 2 CrimPC. However, the fortuitously discovered offenses, namely serious violations of road traffic regulations, are not included in this catalogue.
The Federal Tribunal rejected the Public Prosecutor's…