Facts
The complainant Meier was sentenced by the High Court of the Canton of Lucerne in 1948 to 20 days' imprisonment and a fine. The execution of the prison sentence was postponed several times and eventually accidentally not ordered anymore. When Meier was serving a new custodial sentence at the Wauwilermoos institution in 1957, he made a remark to the institution's administrator Oswald that he had prevented the execution of the previous sentence through bribery of an official. Thereupon, Meier was questioned by the secretary of the Department of Justice, the cantonal police, and the district office, whereupon he claimed that he had bribed an official named Wydin or another official of the district office, Felber or Brunner, for 500 francs to prevent the execution of the sentence.
On April 7, 1959, the High Court of the Canton of Lucerne convicted Meier of false accusation pursuant to Art. 303 para. 1 no. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code and of misleading the administration of justice pursuant to Art. 304 para. 1 no. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code to 10 months' imprisonment. Meier then filed a nullity appeal with the request to be acquitted.
Considerations
The Court of Cassation dismissed the nullity appeal. It stated that the elements of Art. 303 para. 1 no. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code (false accusation) were fulfilled, as Meier had accused the authorities in a specific form that officials had accepted bribes. It was irrelevant whether Meier had made the accusation on his own initiative or only in response to questioning by the authorities. The decisive factor was that the statement was capable of initiating criminal proceedings against the accused officials.
The requirement that specific persons…