Facts
The complainant [X.] was sentenced by the Winterthur District Court with a penalty order of 2 December 2013 to a fine of CHF 120.-- for failing to activate the parking meter. He lodged an objection against this penalty order, which was deemed withdrawn after he failed to appear for the final hearing. The High Court of the Canton of Zurich overturned the penalty order with a decision of 19 December 2014 and referred the case back to the Winterthur District Court for continuation of the criminal investigation. No compensation was awarded to him for the complaint proceedings due to a lack of significant efforts.
The Winterthur District Court overturned the penalty order with a cancellation and discontinuation decision of 30 March 2015 and discontinued the criminal proceedings, as it could not be proven with sufficient legal certainty whether [X.] or his twin brother had committed the offense. The procedural costs were borne by the authorities, but no compensation was awarded.
[X.] lodged a complaint with the High Court of Zurich against the refusal of compensation, which was dismissed by decision of 19 August 2015. [X.] then lodged a criminal complaint with the request that the decision of the High Court of Zurich of 19 August 2015 be overturned and that he be granted legal hearing.
Considerations
The Federal Court reviewed the interpretation of Art. 429 para. 1 lit. a CrimPC freely and exercised a certain degree of restraint towards the assessment of the lower court. It found that the representation by the complainant's twin brother, who is neither a lawyer nor a jurist, was not subject to compensation.
The Federal Court found that the lower court considered the postal costs to be…