Facts
The complainant [A.] filed a criminal complaint against [B.] on 6 April 2021 for defamation and insult. The Public Prosecutor's Office summoned the parties to conciliation proceedings, but [A.] repeatedly requested the Public Prosecutor's Office to revoke these summons, as he did not consider the conclusion of a settlement to be expedient and appropriate. [A.] did not attend the conciliation hearing on 26 November 2021. Thereupon, the Public Prosecutor's Office discontinued the criminal proceedings, as it considered the criminal complaint to have been withdrawn in accordance with Art. 316 para. 1 sentence 2 CrimPC. [A.] appealed against this discontinuation of the proceedings.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It stated that according to Art. 316 para. 1 CrimPC, the consequence of not appearing for the Public Prosecutor's Office's conciliation hearing is the withdrawal of the criminal complaint. The law stipulates a formal, unconditional, i.e. non-substitutable, personal duty to appear for the person summoned to the conciliation hearing. Even though the complainant had stated that he was not interested in a settlement, this did not change his obligation to appear for the…