Criminal Law
Criminal defense, criminal charges
We advise and represent accused persons, the private claimants, victims and injured persons in the police preliminary investigation, in the investigation procedure with the public prosecutor’s office, in the coercive measures procedure (investigation and security custody) as well as in the first instance main proceedings or in the appeal proceedings. In addition, we advise and represent persons in the administrative proceedings before the administrative authorities (e.g. in road traffic offenses). Our core competences are:
- Advice and representation of private individuals in the area of general criminal law, business criminal law and road traffic law
- Editing of criminal complaints and applications as well as enforcement of damages and satisfaction claims
- Advice and representation of companies in the area of general criminal law, business criminal law and corporate criminal law
Your Experts
Michael Kummer
Senior Partner
Sheila Stach
Junior Associate
Felix Imbach
Junior Associate
Sven Pschorn
Junior Associate
Reto Kuoni
Junior Associate
Faris Beganovic
Junior Associate
Filip Lapadatovic
Junior Associate
Focus
Police stop: Obligations of the person concerned
A police stop (police power to stop) is a key tool used by the police to investigate criminal offences. It serves to establish any possible link between the person stopped and a criminal offence. The legal basis for this is set out in the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code (StPO), specifically in Art. 215 StPO. Unlike arrest under Art. 217 et seq. StPO, which is only permissible in relation to suspects, police detention does not require any specific suspicion of a crime. Furthermore, police detention must be distinguished from public security measures (such as identity checks in border areas), which serve to avert danger and maintain security and order, rather than to investigate a criminal offence. Such police checks are subject to cantonal legislation.
Stalking: New Criminal Offence in Force Since 1 January 2026
Stalking – in statute referred as Nachstellung – was previously not an autonomous criminal offence in Switzerland. Individual acts could, depending on their nature, be subsumed under offences such as threat, coercion, unlawful entry into premises or other criminal provisions. Typical stalking constellations, however, frequently consist of a multitude of individually low-threshold acts which, when viewed in isolation, were difficult to capture under criminal law. The legislative reform is intended to close this gap and to strengthen the criminal-law protection of affected persons. Article 181b of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC) introduces the new offence of stalking (Nachstellung), which entered into force on January 1, 2026.
The revision of the Code of Criminal Procedure from a criminal defense perspective
As is well known, the partially revised Code of Criminal Procedure came into force on January 1, 2024. The aim of the revision was, among other things, to improve the suitability of individual provisions in practice, but also to enshrine the long-standing case law of the Federal Supreme Court in law. The amendments have also resulted in procedural changes from the perspective of the defense or the accused.
