Facts
The appellant [A.] was sentenced by the District Court of Aarau to a prison term of 3 ½ years for numerous offenses. He appealed against this judgment. During the appeal proceedings, the appellant fled from the detention center and could no longer be found. The Cantonal Court of the Canton of Aargau summoned the appellant to the appeal hearing, but was unable to serve the summons on him personally. The summons was published in the official gazette. The appellant failed to appear at the appeal hearing, and the Cantonal Court discontinued the appeal proceedings due to withdrawal of the appeal.
The appellant appealed to the Federal Court and requested that the decision of the Cantonal Court be set aside and the matter be remanded for an appeal hearing. He argued that the lower court had not been entitled to discontinue the appeal proceedings due to withdrawal of the appeal, as the summons had been validly served by official publication in the official gazette.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal. It held that the fiction of withdrawal under Art. 407 para. 1 lit. c CrimPC applies when the party who declared the appeal cannot be summoned. The summons by publication in the official gazette is not required in appeal proceedings, and the official publication of the summons does not affect the applicability of Art. 407 para. 1 lit. c CrimPC.
The Federal Court found that the appellant had fictitiously withdrawn his appeal by fleeing and making it impossible to summon him. The lower court had rightly…