Facts
The case concerns the question of whether the internment of an accused person in a therapeutic and care institution for the clarification of their mental state is to be treated as remand custody within the meaning of Art. 69, 110 No. 7 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB). The Federal Supreme Court's Court of Cassation had to decide whether the accused X. had a claim against the Canton of Aargau.
Considerations
The Federal Court states that under criminal law, any custody imposed in criminal proceedings, regardless of whether it serves investigative purposes or the securing of the perpetrator's person, is considered remand custody. The commitment to a therapeutic and care institution for the clarification of the mental state of an accused person does constitute an investigative measure that is in the interest of criminal prosecution. However, the mere stay in the institution is not sufficient to equate the internment with remand custody.
The decisive factor is whether the deprivation of liberty in the institution is essentially equivalent to that in the remand prison. For this, the accused must be subjected to approximately the same living conditions in the institution as a remand prisoner, insofar as the purpose of the commitment and the operation of the institution…