Facts
The Criminal Court of Thun found E. guilty of fraud and forgery in a judgment dated July 29, 1993, and sentenced her to 14 months' imprisonment. The Attorney General of the Canton of Bern filed a federal nullity appeal against the decision of the High Court of the Canton of Bern, which had found E. guilty of multiple fraud but acquitted her of the charge of forgery.
The lower court found that A., the chairman of the board of directors and owner of the company I. AG, had subsequently issued powers of attorney and backdated them to December 12, 1991, and February 28, 1992, respectively. The respondent used these powers of attorney to create the impression with the investigating authorities that she had already been entitled to the jewelry and carpets before acquiring them.
Considerations
The Federal Court states that powers of attorney are generally considered to be documents, as they embody an authorization to represent the principal vis-à-vis third parties. The addressee may therefore generally be expected to have special trust that the power of attorney corresponds to the actual circumstances. This also applies to the time of granting the power of attorney.
The lower court wrongly denied an increased credibility of the powers of…