Questão jurídica principal
Whether the private appellants' civil claims had to be decided in the criminal case or referred to civil court under Art. 126(3) StPO.
Decisão extraída
The referral was permissible and justified because further evidence on the victim's possible contributory fault and the damage amount would have required additional, time-consuming investigations and risked delaying the criminal proceedings near limitation.
Fundamentação extraída
The court held that the criminal court had already conclusively decided criminal liability, but the civil claims still required unresolved factual findings relevant under civil law, especially on the victim's instruction, prior loading experience, and available alternatives. Given the late stage of the case and the looming limitation period, the lower court was entitled to limit itself to a principle decision on liability and refer the remaining issues to the civil court.