Facts
In this case, the Federal Court was seized of an appeal for nullity filed by the public prosecutor's office of the canton of Lucerne against a judgment of the cantonal court of Lucerne. The dispute concerned the application of the summary penalty order procedure for a speeding offence committed by Maurus Renz.
On 17 April 1978, Maurus Renz was caught by radar exceeding the maximum speed limit of 70 km/h in the village of Baldegg (LU). As he turned right after the control point to take his usual route to Geroldswil, the police were unable to intercept him or impose the summary penalty order on the spot.
Renz was then convicted by a penal order of the prefect to a fine of 40 francs and procedural costs of 30 francs, which he paid. However, he filed an objection against the conviction for costs. The prefect upheld his decision on the costs, increasing them to 75 francs. The district court of Hochdorf then annulled this decision on the costs, considering that the case should have been dealt with according to the summary penalty order procedure and that the accused could not be ordered to pay the costs of an ordinary procedure wrongly initiated.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the public prosecutor's appeal for nullity. It considered that the summary penalty order procedure is mandatory, and not optional, for road traffic offences falling under this procedure. The cases in which these offences can exceptionally be prosecuted according to the ordinary procedure are exhaustively regulated by law and ordinance.
In the present case, Art. 2 let. b of the Ordinance on Summary Penalty Orders provides that the summary penalty order procedure also applies to speeding offences…