Facts
The case concerns a car purchase contract between M., the managing director of a garage, and E. E. submitted a photocopy of the tax inventory of his deceased uncle to the garage in order to prove his solvency for the car purchase. However, the photocopy showed significant deviations from the original. When the garage inquired with the responsible tax office, it filed a criminal complaint for forgery of documents and fraud.
The criminal court of the canton of Basel-Landschaft initially acquitted E. of the charges of forgery of documents and fraud. On appeal, however, the High Court convicted E. of attempted fraud. The public prosecutor's office then filed a nullity appeal to achieve a conviction for forgery of documents.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court granted the nullity appeal. It stated that photocopies are generally recognized as evidence in today's business transactions and can therefore fulfill the character of a document within the meaning of Art. 110 No. 5 of the Swiss Criminal Code. This applies in particular to photocopies of public documents such as the tax inventory at hand.
The Federal Supreme Court emphasized that the protection of trust in documents is in the foreground, not the protection…