Answers about criminal proceedings

Stay calm and clarify your role in advance – whether you are summoned as an accused person or as a person providing information. Your rights and obligations depend on this. It is advisable to seek legal advice before the interview, as the very first questioning sets an important course for the further proceedings.

As an accused person you have the right to refuse to make a statement and to cooperate; you must be informed of this right before the interview (cf. Art. 158 StPO). Whether and to what extent a statement makes sense depends on the specific facts and the stage of proceedings and should, where possible, be discussed with the defence beforehand. Witnesses, by contrast, are in principle under a duty to testify.

No. During a house search or other police activity, the police may not ask you for your phone PIN or password without first informing you of your right to remain silent. Otherwise the evidence is unusable. In certain cases, however, it may be advisable to cooperate with the police.

Request the sealing (Siegelung) of your phone and seek legal advice immediately. Waiving sealing is final and can have serious consequences.

If your phone is sealed, a court must decide on the unsealing. This may make it possible to prevent content protected by confidentiality (e.g. medical privilege, attorney–client privilege, bank client confidentiality, etc.) from being disclosed in the criminal proceedings.

Pre-trial detention (Untersuchungshaft) is the most severe compulsory measure in criminal proceedings (Art. 221 et seq. StPO). An accused person can be detained while investigations are ongoing, in order to prevent flight, interference with evidence or further offences. The presumption of innocence applies during detention as well – it does happen that detained persons are later acquitted.

A strong suspicion (dringender Tatverdacht) is always required. In addition, a specific ground for detention must exist – a risk of flight, of collusion (interference with evidence) or of reoffending, and in certain cases the risk that a threatened serious offence will be carried out. Without strong suspicion or a ground for detention, no detention may be ordered.

Pre-trial detention is only permissible if no milder means suffices (proportionality). If the ground for detention can be sufficiently addressed by substitute measures such as bail, surrender of identity papers, a reporting duty, an electronic ankle monitor or a contact ban, no detention may be ordered. For mere petty offences, detention is disproportionate from the outset.

The compulsory-measures court decides on the order and any extension at the request of the public prosecutor. Detention is time-limited and must be re-authorised for each extension; its duration must remain proportionate and may not exceed the expected sentence. As a detained person you can apply for release at any time, and the court decides on such an application swiftly.

Pre-trial detention lasts during the investigation up to the indictment. If an indictment is brought and the grounds for detention persist, it becomes security detention (Sicherheitshaft) – detention between the arrival of the indictment at the court and the legally binding judgment or the start of the sentence (Art. 220 StPO).

First check the objection deadline: you can file a written objection (Einsprache) against a summary penalty order with the public prosecutor within 10 days of service. This deadline is mandatory – if it lapses unused, the order becomes legally binding and is equivalent to a judgment. The objection does not need to be reasoned. Have the order reviewed by a lawyer as soon as possible: an objection is often worthwhile, for example where the facts or the sanction are incorrect; in other cases accepting the order may be the better choice. In any event, be sure to observe the deadline.

In a seizure, assets are provisionally secured, for example to preserve evidence or in view of later confiscation. You do not thereby lose ownership, but for the time being you cannot freely dispose of the assets. Legal remedies against a seizure exist; often at least a restriction or release can be achieved. A swift legal review is advisable.

Even someone who is not themselves accused can be affected by account freezes or seizures. As an affected third party you have your own procedural rights and can defend yourself against disproportionate or unjustified measures. It is important to examine the freezing order carefully and to respond within the deadline in order to obtain the release of the assets.

As a rule: the earlier, the better. Decisions are made as early as the investigation stage that significantly influence the further course. At the latest when a summons from the public prosecutor arrives, compulsory-measure proceedings loom or a house search has taken place, you should seek legal support. Early advice helps to avoid procedural errors and hasty statements.

The fee is usually based on the time spent and the complexity of the mandate; billing by hourly rate is customary. In certain criminal proceedings an official defence may be considered, and where financial means are lacking, legal aid can be applied for. In the initial consultation I give a transparent estimate of the expected effort and discuss the cost implications openly with you.

In the initial consultation you describe your situation and the available documents to me. I give you a first legal assessment, explain possible next steps and discuss with you the procedure and the costs of any representation. Appointments take place by arrangement; for urgent matters I am reachable by phone.

Attorney–client privilege protects the communication between you and your lawyer regardless of the channel. However, note that unencrypted e-mails are technically not fully secure. For particularly sensitive information, contact by telephone or in person is therefore recommended.