Facts
The case concerns a professional driver, H., who was involved in a road accident in November 1989. The accident resulted in serious bodily injuries for H., including fractures and bruises. The cantonal authority sentenced H. to 10 days' imprisonment for serious violation of traffic rules and offenses against the OTR.
H. filed a nullity appeal with the Court of Cassation of the Federal Tribunal, invoking a violation of Article 66bis SCC, which provides that the competent authority may waive prosecution or conviction of the perpetrator of a punishable act if the consequences of the act are such that the punishment would be inappropriate.
Considerations
The Court of Cassation examined the criteria for applying Article 66bis SCC and found that the cantonal authority had imposed excessive conditions for the application of this provision. The Court recalled that Article 66bis SCC aims to take into account the direct consequences of the act for the perpetrator and that the decision to exempt the perpetrator from punishment depends essentially on the perpetrator's fault and the severity of the consequences.
The Court also emphasized that the cantonal authority has a wide discretion to apply Article 66bis SCC, but that this discretion must be exercised in accordance with the criteria set by…