Facts
The case concerns a cinema owner who screened a film that had been shown without objection in another location. The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Lucerne brought charges against the cinema owner for violation of censorship regulations. The Court of Cassation of the Swiss Federal Court had to decide whether the cinema owner could invoke an excusable legal error pursuant to Art. 20 SCC.Considerations
According to established case law on Art. 20 SCC, only those who had sufficient grounds to assume that they were not doing anything unlawful at all can invoke a legal error. It is not enough for the perpetrator to have merely considered the act as not punishable. Rather, the perpetrator must have the indefinite feeling that his conduct violates what is lawful.
In the present case, the cinema owner cannot invoke a legal error merely because the film was shown without objection in another location. Various reasons may be decisive for this. The Court of Cassation requires more reliable documents, such as information from authorities or trustworthy persons, to establish an excusable legal error. For example, a previous…