Facts
The case concerns the criminal liability of the sole board member W. of G. AG for indecent publications committed by the managing director H. within the scope of the business operations of the public limited company.
The High Court of the Canton of Thurgau convicted W. for breach of his supervisory duty as a board member, as he had accepted the indecent publications. W. subsequently filed a nullity appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that legal entities are generally not capable of committing offenses, and only the natural persons who committed the criminal acts are criminally liable. A guarantor position of the board of directors that could establish criminal liability for omission cannot be derived solely from its corporate law function.
Rather, it must be proven that the appellant W. recognized or at least foresaw the realization of the criminal offense and nevertheless failed to prevent the offenses because he wanted them or at least…