Facts
The appellant [X.] was found guilty by the High Court of the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in the second instance of unauthorized data procurement, breach of trade secrets, and violation of the Federal Act against Unfair Competition. He was sentenced to a conditional prison sentence of six weeks and a fine of 1,000 Swiss francs.
[X.] filed a federal nullity appeal against this judgment with the Federal Supreme Court. However, the appeal was filed after the expiry of the 30-day appeal deadline. [X.] then applied for the restoration of the appeal deadline, as his former legal representative [A.] had overlooked the deadline due to an imperceptible impairment of his health.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the application for restoration of the appeal deadline. It concluded that there was no unforeseeable obstacle within the meaning of Art. 35 para. 1 of the Federal Act on the Organization of Federal Judicial Authorities (FJA).
While the court confirmed that a state of illness that makes any action aimed at observing the deadline impossible can generally constitute an unforeseeable obstacle, in the present case it could not be proven that the alleged heart disease of [A.] had actually led to a…