Facts
The complainant André Plumey was arrested in 1986 for various economic offenses and later extradited to Switzerland. The Public Prosecutor's Office of Basel-Stadt ordered pre-trial detention and later brought charges against him. The complainant alleged a violation of Art. 5 para. 3 ECHR, as the accumulation of functions of investigating judge and prosecutor existed in the person of Public Prosecutor Dr. Fritz Helber.
The Basel-Stadt Criminal Court and the Basel-Stadt Court of Appeal dismissed the complainant's requests. The complainant filed a constitutional complaint, in which he alleged a violation of Art. 5 para. 3 and Art. 6 para. 3 ECHR.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the allegation of a violation of Art. 5 para. 3 ECHR and found that the accumulation of functions of investigating judge and prosecutor in the person of Public Prosecutor Dr. Fritz Helber actually constitutes a violation of Art. 5 para. 3 ECHR. However, the Federal Court recognized that the finding of a violation of Art. 5 para. 3 ECHR does not lead to the invalidity of the indictment or the appointment of a new prosecutor.
The Federal Court stated that the violation of Art. 5 para. 3 ECHR cannot be remedied by drawing up a new indictment and appointing a new prosecutor. The convention-violating detention cannot be retroactively remedied or undone. The Federal Court found that the complainant has the possibility of bringing a claim for compensation…