Facts
The case concerns a young man, A., born in 2001, who committed several serious crimes, including acts of violence and sexual offenses, between December 2017 and December 2019, before and after his 18th birthday. The Winterthur juvenile prosecutor's office brought charges against him.
The court of first instance excluded the public from the hearing, but allowed accredited journalists to attend during the questioning of the defendants and the reading of the judgment. The defendant appealed this decision, but the court of appeal confirmed the exclusion of the public, while allowing accredited journalists to attend the appeal hearing, under certain conditions.
The defendant then appealed to the Federal Court, requesting the annulment of the court of appeal's decision and the exclusion of accredited journalists from the appeal hearing. The Federal Court dismissed the appeal.
Considerations
The Federal Court considered that the principle of closed doors in juvenile criminal proceedings is a fundamental principle of juvenile criminal law. However, it also considered that this principle may be derogated from in certain circumstances, particularly when the public interest so requires and it does not harm the interests of the juvenile.
The Federal Court estimated that, in the present case, the public interest justified allowing accredited journalists to access the appeal hearing, insofar as the facts committed by the defendant had a significant impact on public opinion and had caused strong emotion.
The Federal…