Facts
The case concerns Rigolet, who had stolen twelve stationed motor vehicles (motorcycles, passenger cars, scooters) between February 1955 and August 1956. He used these vehicles for journeys of no more than a few hours and then left them behind, either because he had no further interest in the vehicles or because the fuel had run out. In another case, he was apprehended by third parties as he was attempting to ride away on a stranger's motorcycle for the same purpose.
The High Court of the Canton of Lucerne convicted Rigolet of these acts of repeated theft and completed attempted theft under Art. 137 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB). It justified this by stating that theft occurs when a vehicle is taken away with the intention of using it and abandoning it, as the use constitutes an enrichment and the abandonment an act of appropriation.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court's Court of Cassation overturned the High Court's judgment and remanded the case for a new decision to the lower court. It stated that theft under Art. 137 StGB requires that the perpetrator appropriates the foreign object, i.e., incorporates it economically into his own assets. However, Rigolet had not appropriated the vehicles by stealing them, but only wanted to use them temporarily and…