Facts
On May 31, 2019, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Bischofszell filed charges against [C.] for sexual acts with children, pornography, and physical abuse to the detriment of A.A. On December 9, 2019, the District Court of Weinfelden found [C.] guilty and awarded A.A. compensation of 15,000 Swiss francs.
After the criminal judgment became legally binding, the District Court of Weinfelden awarded A.A. an additional compensation of 15,000 Swiss francs from the Victim Assistance Act on September 22, 2021. However, it rejected her application for reimbursement of the legal fees for the criminal proceedings.
A.A. appealed this decision to the High Court of the Canton of Thurgau, which dismissed the appeal as unfounded. Subsequently, A.A. filed a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court.
In parallel, on October 11, 2021, A.A. submitted an application to the Department of Justice and Security of the Canton of Thurgau for the assumption of legal fees in the amount of 12,294.50 Swiss francs. The Department rejected the application, which A.A. then contested before the Administrative Court of the Canton of Thurgau. This appeal was also dismissed, leading A.A. to file a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court first had to determine whether the legal fees for the criminal proceedings should be classified as long-term assistance under Art. 13 para. 2 of the Victim Assistance Act or as compensation under Art. 19 of the Victim Assistance Act.
It concluded that legal fees can only be claimed as immediate assistance or long-term assistance, but not as compensation. This is in line with the message on the completely revised Victim Assistance Act and the case law of the Swiss Liaison Offices Conference on the Victim Assistance Act.
Furthermore, the Federal Supreme Court found that the subsidiarity of victim assistance in relation to…