Racial Discrimination and Victim Status

Facts

The complainant X. had given a lecture at a primary school on June 21, 2000. On the same day, an article by A. appeared in the newspaper "Der Rheintaler", portraying X. as polarized. X. felt discriminated against in his religious affiliation by the article and filed a criminal complaint against A. for racial discrimination on August 31, 2000. The Investigation Office Altstätten did not pursue the criminal and civil charges on June 26, 2001, as the offense of racial discrimination was not given. X. filed a constitutional complaint with the request to overturn the decision of the indictment chamber and to pursue the criminal and civil charges against A.

The parties to the proceedings are X. (complainant), A. (defendant), the Investigation Office Altstätten, and the Indictment Chamber of the Canton of St. Gallen. The central question of the proceedings is whether X. is to be considered a victim within the meaning of Art. 2 para. 1 VSA and whether the assumption of victim status is justified in this case.

Considerations

The Federal Court examines the entitlement to file a constitutional complaint and the victim status of the complainant. It finds that the victim status under Art. 2 para. 1 VSA requires that the person has been directly affected in their physical, sexual, or psychological integrity by a criminal offense. The court refers to the case law, according to which the impairment must be of a certain weight and that minor offenses such as assaults that only cause insignificant impairments are generally excluded from the scope of the Victim Support Act.

The court discusses the question of whether racial discrimination under Art. 261bis para. 4 first sentence SCC can establish victim status. It finds that an individual can be a victim of racial discrimination if the attack is directly aimed at the person concerned and affects their human dignity. Victim status can be given in the case of racial discrimination under Art. 261bis para. 4 first sentence SCC, depending on the circumstances, if a physical attack is present or if…