Continuation of the Internment of an Abnormal Offender who has Committed Repeated Offenses against Property

Facts

By judgment of 23 August 2007, the Criminal Court of the East Vaud District ordered the continuation of the internment of X., who had been convicted several times for offenses against property. X. had been interned under the former Art. 43 para. 1 no. 2 SCC due to the danger posed by these repeated offenses.

X. filed a criminal appeal to the Federal Tribunal, alleging a violation of Art. 2 para. 2, 56, 59 SCC and no. 2 para. 2 of the final provisions of the amendment of 13 December 2002. He requests the termination of his internment or, subsidiarily, its replacement by an institutional treatment under Art. 59 SCC.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal. According to no. 2 para. 2 of the final provisions, internments ordered under the former Art. 42 and 43 para. 1 no. 2 SCC continue after the entry into force of the new law, even if the conditions for internment under Art. 64 SCC are not met. This aims to prevent a person interned under the old law from being simply released in the absence of conditions allowing internment under the new law.

However, the internment must now be executed in accordance with the new law, which includes the rules on conditional release under Art. 64a and 64b SCC. Thus, X. can request his conditional release, which must be granted if it is not to be…