Dismissal of the appeal for nullity due to lack of standing of the person who signed the appeal declaration

Facts

In this case, [A.] was convicted by the District Criminal Court of Lausanne to 7 months' imprisonment for breach of trust. After exhausting the cantonal appeal routes, [A.] appealed for nullity before the Federal Tribunal. However, the appeal declaration was signed by the secretary of his lawyer, and not by the lawyer himself or by [A.] in person.

Considerations

The Criminal Cassation Court of the Federal Tribunal ruled that, according to Art. 29(2) FJA (Federal Judicial Administration), only licensed lawyers and university law professors can act as representatives in civil and criminal matters. Given that the canton of Vaud has a regulated bar, the lawyer's secretary did not have the…