Facts
The case concerns an individual, R., who stole a leather jacket worth 398 Swiss francs in a clothing store in Basel. The president of the Basel-Stadt criminal court sentenced him for minor theft (art. 139, para. 1, in relation to art. 172ter SCC) to 8 days of imprisonment with a suspended sentence of 1 year. The public prosecutor of the canton of Basel-Stadt appealed this decision, requesting a conviction for theft (art. 137, para. 1 SCC) with 10 days of imprisonment and a suspended sentence of 2 years.
The Basel-Stadt cantonal court of appeal confirmed the judgment of the president of the criminal court. The public prosecutor then filed a motion for annulment with the Federal Court, requesting the annulment of the judgment of the court of appeal and the referral of the case for a new decision.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the notion of 'low value' in the context of article 172ter of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC). It considered that the legislature had not explicitly defined this concept, but referred to existing practice in the field of property offenses. The Federal Court estimated that an objective and uniform threshold was needed to determine low value.
The Court examined the different thresholds used by the cantons and doctrine, ranging from 100 to 500 Swiss francs. It considered that the threshold of 500 Swiss francs was too high, as it could lead to the trivialization of property offenses and a decrease in the awareness of illegality. On the other hand, a threshold of 100 Swiss francs might not be sufficient to achieve the goal of relieving the authorities of the prosecution of minor offenses.
The Federal Court finally set the threshold of seriousness for minor…