Facts
The appellant, lawyer [X.] , was appointed as the official defense counsel in a criminal investigation against [A.] . The public prosecutor's office paid him a compensation of CHF 2'563.20. During the main hearing before the Regional Court of Bern-Mittelland, lawyer [X.] submitted his bill of costs and claimed a total of 90.5 hours. The President of the Regional Court granted lawyer [X.] a compensation of CHF 12'193.20. Lawyer [X.] appealed against the compensation decision to the High Court of the Canton of Bern and requested a compensation of CHF 15'865.20. The High Court granted lawyer [X.] a compensation for 71.5 hours and set his remaining fee at CHF 15'757.20. Lawyer [X.] requested that the Canton of Bern bear the full costs of the appeal procedure and that he be granted an unreduced procedural compensation of CHF 1'574.85.
Considerations
The Federal Court dealt with the appeal in criminal matters against the decision of the High Court of the Canton of Bern of November 23, 2015. The appellant complained of an obviously incorrect, arbitrary establishment of the facts and a violation of Art. 428 para. 1 CrimPC and Art. 9 Cst. The lower court had incorrectly reproduced his legal petition and granted him an official compensation of CHF 15'757.20, although he had almost entirely prevailed with his appeal.
The Federal Court found that the lower court had arbitrarily established the facts by assuming that the appellant had requested a compensation of CHF 17'436.45, although he had actually claimed a compensation of CHF 15'865.20. This arbitrary establishment of the facts had an impact on the regulation of the cost and compensation consequences of the lower court's decision.
The Federal Court concluded that the lower court had violated Art. 428 para. 1…