Facts
The case concerns the question of whether, pursuant to Art. 6 of the Penalty Notice Act (OBG), ordinary proceedings must be initiated if the person fined indicates that they will pay the fine in installments within the payment deadline.
The appellant X. was fined by the Office of the Attorney General of the Canton of Zurich. As he did not pay the full fine within the 30-day payment deadline, but only indicated that he would pay in installments, the Office of the Attorney General initiated ordinary proceedings.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that according to Art. 6 OBG, ordinary proceedings must be initiated if the offender does not pay the full fine within the 30-day payment deadline. The possibility of installment payments or longer payment deadlines is not provided for by the law.
The purpose of Art. 6 OBG is to enable a rapid and meaningful handling of misdemeanors in the penalty notice procedure. This requires full and timely…