Facts
The case concerns the imposition of the procedural costs on the legal representative of a party in criminal proceedings. The public prosecutor's office had not taken up criminal proceedings for negligent bodily harm. The father of the injured party, who acted as the legal representative, appealed against this decision. The High Court dismissed the appeal and imposed the procedural costs on the father as the representative.
The father then appealed to the Federal Court. He requested that the criminal proceedings be taken up and that the procedural costs not be imposed on his daughter and himself.
Considerations
The Federal Court states that according to Art. 417 CPC, the criminal authorities can impose procedural costs and compensation on the person involved in the proceedings who caused them, regardless of the outcome of the proceedings. This also applies to the legal representative of a party, as he is to be considered a party involved in the proceedings within the meaning of Art. 417 CPC.
In the present case, the father as the legal…