Federal court rules: Journalist receives retrospective access to unanonymized verdict
The St. Gallen judiciary is permitted to disclose a final judgment to a journalist investigating the Geneva fraud case involving the Hypotheka Foundation. This was decided by the Federal Supreme Court. A man convicted in that judgment is among the defendants in the Geneva case.
The individual concerned filed an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court against the judgment handed down by the St. Gallen District Court in January 2014. In a decision published on Monday, the Federal Supreme Court held that access to the non-anonymized portion of the judgment does not constitute a disproportionate infringement of the defendant’s right to privacy.
According to the Federal Supreme Court, the appellant cannot invoke his «right to be forgotten.» The conviction occurred not long ago. Furthermore, the journalist is investigating the current case in Geneva.
The Lausanne judges also point to the principle of open court proceedings, according to which court hearings and the pronouncement of judgments are public. This would prevent secret, behind-closed-doors justice.
Journalists, in particular, could invoke the principle of public pronouncement of the judgment or the announcement of the judgment even retroactively—that is, after the proceedings have been legally concluded.
The Federal Supreme Court holds that, when publishing a story, a journalist must adhere to the «strict code of ethics» for journalists and respect the personal rights of the person concerned. (SDA)
