Facts
On June 9, 1979, it was determined that the driver of a passenger car had exceeded the maximum permissible speed. The company X. S.A. identified as the owner, or its responsible director, Dr. S., refused to disclose the name of the foreign business associate to whom the car had been lent that evening, "for business policy reasons", to the police.
The police judge of the city of Zurich subsequently fined Dr. S. for refusing to testify to the police. This penal order was confirmed by the single judge in criminal matters at the District Court of Zurich and by the High Court of the Canton of Zurich.
Dr. S. filed a federal nullity appeal and subsidiarily a constitutional appeal against the dismissive decision of the High Court.
Considerations
The Federal Court concluded that the duty imposed on the vehicle owner under § 15 para. 1 of the Law on Traffic Charges and the Enforcement of Road Traffic Law of the Canton of Zurich to provide information to the police as to who drove the vehicle or to whom he has entrusted it, is exclusively of a procedural nature and does not constitute a provision of federal road traffic law…