Private defence and criminal procedure
Private defence and criminal procedure
As explained in these columns, criminal proceedings at federal level are governed by the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP): when a person is questioned by the police or the public prosecutor, it is important to know in what capacity he or she is being heard, as this will give rise to different rights. Under article 104 of the CCP, only the accused, the complainant and the public prosecutor - later in the proceedings - have the status of parties. Any other person heard in criminal proceedings, such as injured parties, whistleblowers, witnesses, experts or PADRs (an acronym used to refer to all persons likely to be involved in criminal proceedings), have only the status of "other participants in the proceedings" within the meaning of article 105 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.This distinction is not without interest, since it has different consequences, particularly in terms of rights and obligations in the proceedings. In particular, a party to the proceedings will have the right of access to the file and the right to appeal or to oppose a decision notified to him, whereas the other participants in the proceedings will have no such prerogatives. However, the right to call a lawyer is guaranteed for everyone, and the CPP answers in the affirmative whether a support person may be present as legal counsel during the hearing of a PADR or a police witness. However, the Canton of Geneva, in its Penal Code Application Act (LaCP), specifies that assistance to the complainant and other participants in the proceedings is reserved for lawyers, as is that to the accused. In Geneva, therefore, only a lawyer may assist a person being heard in criminal proceedings. The only exception is for victims who have suffered physical, psychological or sexual harm, who may be accompanied by a support person in addition to their lawyer.
