Facts
The case concerns an 18-year-old driver named Spiess, who operated a motor vehicle without license plates and without liability insurance. The District Court of Dielsdorf convicted Spiess pursuant to Art. 96 para. 1 and 2 of the Road Traffic Act to a fine of 50 Swiss francs. As a mitigating factor under Art. 100 para. 1 of the Criminal Code, the court considered that Spiess was only 18 years old at the time of the offense.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Zurich filed a nullity appeal against the judgment. It requested that the judgment be set aside and that Spiess be sentenced to at least a fine equivalent to one year's premium of the liability insurance, i.e., at least 393 Swiss francs.
Considerations
The Court of Cassation dismissed the nullity appeal. It stated that Art. 100 para. 1 of the Criminal Code is also applicable to violations of the Road Traffic Act. Although Art. 96 para. 2 of the Road Traffic Act provides for a minimum fine equivalent to one year's premium of the liability insurance, this does not mean that a mitigation of sentence under Art. 65 of the Criminal Code is excluded.
The court explained that the absence of a provision regulating the case of a fine with a specifically determined minimum amount is due to the fact that the Criminal Code generally threatens…