Introductory Act to the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code (EG StPO) - Application of the Code of Criminal Procedure (EGSTPO)

1. The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure also apply to cantonal criminal law and federal misdemeanor law, provided that cantonal law does not contain any provisions to the contrary.

1. The cantonal Court Organization Act applies additionally to the organization and the general procedural law of the courts.

1. Members of the Grand Council, the Executive Council, and the courts can only be prosecuted for statements made in the Grand Council if two-thirds of its members grant authorization for it (Art. 7 Para. 2 lit. a StPO). Such decisions are final.

1. Criminal proceedings against members of the executive and judicial authorities for crimes and misdemeanors committed in office may only be initiated with the authorization of the Administrative Commission, which makes a final decision (Art. 7 Sec. 2 lit. b of the Criminal Procedure Code).

1. The Cantonal Police performs the duties of the police (Art. 12 lit. a Swiss Criminal Procedure Code).

1. The Public Prosecutor conducts the preliminary investigation, carries out the investigation, files charges, and represents these if necessary (Art. 12 lit. b CCP).

2. He may commission investigating officers to conduct interrogations (Art. 142 para. 1 CCP), gather evidence (Art. 311 para. 1 CCP), and issue penalty orders, as well as delegate the questioning of witnesses to members of the cantonal police (Art. 142 para. 2 CCP).

3. The Public Prosecutor is also responsible for inter-cantonal and international legal assistance in criminal matters.

1. The Commission of Standards elects the regular and extraordinary public prosecutors (Art. 14 para. 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code).

2. It oversees the law enforcement authorities. This oversight includes

a) organizational, administrative, and personnel matters;

b) the processing of cases (management), excluding the application of law in individual cases;

c) the assessment of supervisory complaints, insofar as federal criminal procedure provisions do not assign jurisdiction elsewhere.

3. It has the right to access information and provide instructions to fulfill its duties. It can only access procedural files if required for the assessment of a supervisory complaint or if the procedure has been legally concluded.

1. The Grand Council elects an independent expert commission, consisting of three members with expertise in criminal law and criminal procedure law.

2. The commission conducts expert assessments on behalf of the Council of State with the law enforcement authorities. The Grand Council can oblige the Council of State to issue such mandates; in this case, the Council of State reports the results to the Grand Council in an appropriate form, for example, by means of an anonymized version of the expert commission's report.

3. For the fulfillment of these mandates, the commission is entitled to request information and inspect the files from the law enforcement authorities.

4. The commission submits an annual report to the Council of State and may make proposals. The Council of State remains responsible for supervisory measures.

1. A single judge of the district court exercises the function of the coercive measures court (Art. 13 lit. a Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure).

2. The president of the district court may appoint a deputy if necessary.

1. The District Court President decides on objections to penalty orders (Art. 356 CrimPC).

1. The District Court acts as the court of first instance in criminal matters (Art. 13 lit. b CrimPC), unless cantonal law provides for exceptions.

1. The Cantonal Court President decides on appeals against decisions of the District Court President (Art. 13 lit. d CrimPC).

1. The Cantonal Court Commission for Decisions in Criminal Matters acts as an appellate body (Art. 13 lit. c CrimPC).

1. The Cantonal Court, Civil and Criminal Court Division, acts as an appellate court (Art. 13 lit. d StPO), insofar as cantonal law does not provide for any exceptions.

1. The language of the proceedings is German (Art. 67 StPO).

1. The professional commission may, upon the request of the public prosecutor, award rewards to private individuals for their successful cooperation in criminal investigations (Art. 211 para. 2 CrimPC).

1. Physicians, midwives, and their assistants as defined by Art. 321 of the Criminal Code are obligated to report extraordinary deaths to the law enforcement authorities (Art. 253 para. 4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

1. Members of authorities, officials, and employees of the canton, districts, and municipalities are entitled to file a report if they become aware, through their official duties, of an offense that must be prosecuted ex officio; the status as a member of an authority and official is determined according to Art. 110 para. 3 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB).

2. If the knowledge pertains to a crime within the meaning of the StGB, a report must be filed, or an advisory commission appointed by the Standing Commission must be consulted; if the advisory commission is consulted, it decides on the filing of a report.

3. Before filing a report, experts designated by the Standing Commission may be consulted. These experts and the members of the advisory commission are exempt from the obligation under para. 2 in cases where they have been consulted.

4. The Standing Commission may issue directives, particularly regarding the filing of reports by the advisory commission.

1. Within the framework of the execution of sentences, the following authorities are responsible (Art. 363 para. 3 CCP)

a) the standing commission for release or the revocation of measures, including any potential revocation under Art. 62b, Art. 62c paras. 1-5, Art. 62d, Art. 63a paras. 1-2, Art. 64a para. 1, Art. 64b para. 1, and Arts. 86-89 SCC;

b) the Department of Justice, Police, and Military for the execution of sentences and measures (Art. 372 SCC) as well as the implementation of community service (Art. 375 SCC);

c) the procedural leadership of the authority making the final decision for fines, monetary penalties, costs, and forfeitures (Art. 374 SCC).

1. The Cantonal Accounting Office is the cantonal collecting authority (Art. 442 Para. 3 CrimPC).

1. The Grand Council enacts an ordinance on the enforcement of sentences and measures (Art. 439 para. 1 StPO).

1. The Council of State issues the provisions necessary for the application of the Criminal Code and this introductory law.

2. It concludes the agreements required for the execution of sentences and measures outside the canton. The authority of the Grand Council regarding accession to concordats is reserved (Art. 27 para. 3 of the Cantonal Constitution).

1. The law shall enter into force at the same time as the Code of Criminal Procedure following its adoption by the Landsgemeinde.

1. Upon the enactment of this law, all decrees contradicting it are hereby repealed, in particular the Code of Criminal Procedure Act of April 27, 1986 (StPO).