Facts
The appellant [A.] was found guilty by the Altstätten Investigating Office with a penal order dated 16 April 2020 of multiple simple violations of traffic regulations, obstruction of measures to determine driving incapacity, dereliction of duty in the event of an accident, and driving a vehicle that was not roadworthy and not in accordance with regulations. After [A.] had filed an objection to the penal order, the Altstätten Investigating Office partially discontinued the proceedings by order dated 10 September 2020.
[A.] filed a complaint against the dismissal order. The Indictment Chamber of the Canton of St. Gallen partially upheld the complaint and annulled the dismissal order in the sense of the considerations. It instructed the Public Prosecutor's Office to correct the reasoning accordingly. In all other respects, it dismissed the complaint.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court examined whether the appellant has standing to file the complaint. It concluded that the appellant is generally not entitled to challenge a discontinuation of proceedings in his favor in order to obtain a different legal justification for the dismissal order. An exception applies only where the reasoning and the operative part of the dismissal order are tantamount to an accusation of guilt, without the statutory proof of guilt having been provided beforehand and the accused having been given the opportunity to exercise his or her rights of defense.
The Federal Supreme Court further stated that the lower instance has obliged the Public Prosecutor's Office to delete the wording "proven" as well as the reference to the penal order issued on the same day from the reasoning of the dismissal…