Facts
The Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Fribourg referred Y. to the Criminal Court of the Sarine district for numerous preventive measures. By judgment of March 30, 2012, the Criminal Court acquitted Y. of certain offenses and found him guilty of others. The plaintiff X. appealed against this judgment, seeking its amendment to the effect that Y. be found guilty of certain offenses. The Public Prosecutor's Office declared that it would file a joint appeal, seeking that Y. be found guilty of certain offenses.
The Criminal Appeal Court of the Cantonal Court of the canton of Fribourg decided to consider X.'s appeal and partially consider the Public Prosecutor's Office's joint appeal. The Public Prosecutor's Office filed a criminal appeal with the Federal Court against this decision, seeking its annulment.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the scope of the joint appeal in criminal matters. According to art. 401 CrimPC, the joint appeal is not limited to the main appeal, unless the latter exclusively concerns the civil conclusions of the judgment. However, the accessory nature of the joint appeal implies that it does not have an independent scope with respect to the main appeal.
The doctrine is divided on the question of whether the joint appeal can concern all points of the first-instance judgment. Some authors believe that the joint appeal can challenge all points of the judgment, while others introduce a nuance, citing the situation where a first-instance judgment concerns several co-defendants.
The Federal Court considered that the accessory nature of the joint appeal implies that it must be situated within the framework of the main appeal. When the…