Federal Supreme Court Vaud public prosecutor's office loses case against climate activists

The Federal Supreme Court has not accepted the appeal by the Vaud public prosecutor's office in the case of the climate activists who strewed coal in a UBS branch in Lausanne. According to the court, the public prosecutor's office is not entitled to lodge an appeal.

In 2021, the first Vaud court ruled that UBS's criminal complaint for damage to property and trespassing was invalid because it had not been filed by the UBS unit authorized to do so. As a result, there were only convictions for violations of the Lausanne Police Act. UBS did not take the case any further, but joined the public prosecutor's appeal.

On Thursday, the Federal Supreme Court came to the conclusion that the public prosecutor's office was not legally entitled to appeal to the highest Swiss court. It is not the responsibility of the public prosecutor's office to pursue the interests of the applicants. The offenses in question are offenses for which an application has been made. The applicant must therefore assert his rights himself.

SDA