Subsidiary charge
In Austrian and Liechtenstein criminal procedural law, the subsidiar charge is a possibility for private parties to continue proceedings that have been discontinued by the public prosecutor as a prosecutor. Similar to the private accusation , the privately involved victim assumes the prosecution within the framework of the initiated proceedings and, if necessary, also brings the indictment to the competent court.
According to § 72 ÖStPO (§ 173 liStPO ), a victim who has previously joined the proceedings as a private party can maintain the indictment as a subsidiary prosecutor in the event that the public prosecutor withdraws from the prosecution. However, this possibility only exists in the main proceedings after the prosecution has already brought the indictment. If the public prosecutor's office withdraws from the persecution during the preliminary investigation, the private party only has to apply for the proceedings to be continued in accordance with Section 195 of the Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure. In this case, however, the private party does not become a subsidiary prosecutor, but the public prosecutor remains a public prosecutor.
In order to participate in the main proceedings as a subsidiary prosecutor, the private party must make a declaration. This must be announced immediately if the public prosecutor's office withdraws from the prosecution during the main oral hearing. Otherwise, the private party has one month (in Liechtenstein: fourteen days) to submit a corresponding declaration. The Subsidiary Prosecutor is only entitled to appeal against the judgment to the extent that a normal private party is entitled to them. In addition, in the event of an acquittal, the subsidiary prosecutor bears a considerable cost risk for the accused: in this case he has to pay for the entire legal costs.
In proceedings against juveniles or young adults according to the Youth Courts Act 1988 , the private party is not entitled, according to Section 44 (2 ) JGG, to maintain an indictment as a subsidiary prosecutor that has been discontinued by the public prosecutor.
literature
- Christian Bertel, Andreas Venier: Criminal Procedure Law . 8th edition. Manz'sche publishing and university bookstore . Vienna, 2004. ISBN 3-214-14839-7
- Stefan Seiler: Criminal Procedure Law . Facultas Verlags- und Buchhandels AG. Vienna, 2010. ISBN 978-3-7089-0663-8
