Swiss Press Council does not act on a complaint against the Geneva weekly GHI

The complainant, who was called into question by this article, had also appealed to the criminal justice system. However, based on its procedural rules, the Press Council does not deal with a case if parallel legal proceedings "have been initiated or are planned". An exception is made if a complaint raises fundamental questions of professional ethics. This was not the case here, as the Press Council notes.

The article referred to the filing of a criminal complaint by TéléOnex against its former editor-in-chief for property offenses. However, the public prosecutor's office had not followed up on the complaint, instead referring the parties to civil arbitration to settle their dispute. The weekly newspaper also reported that it had tried to contact the person concerned, whose name was not mentioned in the article, but had been unsuccessful.

On the same day and on the basis of the same facts, the person concerned filed a criminal complaint with the Geneva judiciary for libel, or alternatively for defamation, against the author of the article. This complaint referred directly to the ethical rules of the profession and used almost the same arguments that were brought before the Press Council.

Under these circumstances, the complaint can only be dealt with by the Press Council if it raises fundamental ethical questions. The rules of professional conduct to which the complainant refers are the subject of well-established practice. None of the complaints raised by the complainant raises new questions or problems that require special clarification. Intervention by the Press Council also does not appear to be indispensable for other reasons, for example because the case would have met with a great response in the other media.