Facts
On 14 October 1969, a collision occurred on the cantonal road between Tiefenkastel and Lenz between a moped and a car, resulting in fatal injuries to the moped driver, Marcel Lauener. The investigating judge in Chur opened a criminal investigation for negligent homicide against Erwin Cadosch, the driver of the car, but discontinued the proceedings on 24 July 1970 with the approval of the prosecutor, due to insufficient evidence of a violation of traffic regulations by the accused. Georges-André Lauener, the victim's father, appealed to the Federal Tribunal against this decision to discontinue the case, alleging a violation of Art. 4 Cst. He believes that the victim of a punishable act has a protected interest in the outcome of the criminal proceedings and should therefore be entitled to challenge the discontinuation not only on procedural grounds, but also on the merits.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismisses the appeal. Although most cantonal CrimPC grant the victim rights that primarily serve the pursuit of the criminal interest, the Federal Tribunal considers that the victim's private interest in criminal prosecution has only a factual, not a legal, character. Only the rights that cantonal law grants to the victim in their capacity as a party to the proceedings can form the basis of a public law appeal, excluding a grievance based on an arbitrary assessment of the evidence or an arbitrary application of the law.
Regarding the grievance of a violation of the right to be heard, the Federal Tribunal considers that the victim has no direct…