Mitigating factors

Mitigating factors guide courts toward a less severe penalty where the offender’s blameworthiness or the offence’s seriousness is reduced. They may include limited intent, minor participation, provocation, distress, restitution, cooperation, confession, lack of prior convictions, youth, or genuine efforts at rehabilitation. Swiss sentencing considers personal circumstances and culpability within the statutory range, while respecting proportionality and equal treatment. Some mitigating circumstances are expressly regulated for particular situations, and others form part of the broader assessment of the offender and the offence.