The Swiss Federal Supreme Court Published A Judgment On Drug Trafficking Software In The Context Of Criminal Proceedings
Surveillance by use of Technical Surveillance Devices is defined in Section 2 of the Swiss Penal Code Article 280.
The Public Prosecutor's Office may employ technological surveillance equipment to:
- listen to or record words spoken in private
- listen to, or record words said in public
- observe or record happenings in areas that are not open to the public
- determining the location of people or things
The Supreme Court has published a judgment on drug trafficking
software in the context of criminal proceedings in 2020. The decision is one of the first judgments in the European Union to rule on whether a computer program can be considered a means of committing a crime.
This judgment results from an investigation that the Federal Supreme Court carried out in Switzerland. The purpose of this investigation was to assess whether the use of the software is a tool that can be used to facilitate the distribution and sale of drugs, and therefore, be considered a form of criminal activity. To establish whether this is true, the Court examined whether or not the use of software can be seen as a tool that has been explicitly designed for illegal activities.
This application was ruled a "technical surveillance instrument" by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court under art. 280 Swiss Criminal Procedure.
Sources:
- https://www.bger.ch/ext/eurospider/live/fr/php/aza/http/index.php?highlight_docid=aza%3A%2F%2Faza://18-06-2020-1B_132-2020&lang=de&zoom=&type=show_document
- https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2010/267/en#art_280
