Dismissal of criminal proceedings for assaults based on Art. 55a SCC and the principle of "ne bis in idem"

Facts

Parties: A.X. (appellant 1), B.X. (appellant 2), C.X. (respondent 2), Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Bern.

Facts: A.X. and C.X. were spouses and had a dog named "E.". After their separation in April 2012, C.X. took the dog and did not return it. On June 22, 2012, A.X., B.X., and D. attempted to forcibly take the dog from C.X., leading to a scuffle. C.X. used pepper spray, and A.X. was eventually able to take the dog.

Previous proceedings: The Regional Court of Bern-Mittelland convicted A.X., B.X., and D. of assaults and acquitted them of the charge of robbery. The Higher Court of the Canton of Bern confirmed the conviction and rejected the applications for dismissal of the criminal proceedings.

Appeal: A.X. and B.X. appealed to the Federal Supreme Court against the conviction for assaults and applied for the dismissal of the criminal proceedings.

Considerations

The appellants argued that the criminal proceedings against them for assaults had already been definitively dismissed and that a renewed conviction would violate the principle of "ne bis in idem". The previous court had rejected this, as it was of the opinion that the incident of June 22, 2012 was not covered by the dismissal order.

The Federal Supreme Court found that the dismissal of the criminal proceedings under Art. 55a SCC is equivalent to a withdrawal of the criminal complaint and thus applies to all…