Facts
Otto Oppliger and Kurt Scheidegger, who had escaped from the Tessenberg educational institution on the night of January 3/4, 1971, confessed on January 7, 1971 before the cantonal police of Bern and Solothurn, that on January 4, 1971 in Brügg and on January 5, 1971 in Orpund, they had jointly attempted to steal a passenger car for use, and on January 6, 1971 around 00:30 in Basel, they had jointly stolen such a car for use and left it in the area of Dielsdorf/Buchs on the same day. Due to the theft in Basel, the injured party filed a criminal complaint against unknown perpetrators with the police of the Canton of Basel-Stadt on January 6, 1971.
On February 17, 1971, the Attorney General of the Canton of Bern recognized the jurisdiction of Bern before the Youth Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, as the accused had acted while fleeing from a Bernese educational institution. The Attorney General of the Canton of Bern later requested the Indictment Chamber of the Federal Court to declare the authorities of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, or possibly those of the Canton of Zurich, competent to prosecute and judge the criminal acts attributed to the accused.
Considerations
The Indictment Chamber of the Federal Court dismissed the request of the Attorney General of the Canton of Bern and declared the authorities of the Canton of Bern competent to prosecute and judge Otto Oppliger and Kurt Scheidegger for the criminal acts attributed to them.
The Indictment Chamber justified its decision by stating that the jurisdiction does not depend on what can ultimately be proven against the accused, but is determined by the criminal acts that are the subject of the investigation. Since the theft of the passenger car in Basel had already been reported on January 6, 1971, while the act committed in Orpund had only become known to the Bernese authorities on January 7, the…