Court decision: Basler Zeitung must delete article
The Basel newspaper BaZ has unfairly violated the competitive position of the Baselland Chamber of Commerce. It must delete nine newspaper articles from its archive in full and three in part. However, the Cantonal Court of Basel-Landschaft acquitted the newspaper of having conducted a media campaign.
For half a year, the newspaper had regularly published articles, in particular about the role of the Chamber of Commerce in labor market controls, formulating massive accusations. The validity of collective labor agreements in the painting and plastering trade was also discussed. As a result, the Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit for unfair competition in August 2018.
The civil law department of the cantonal court came to the conclusion on Monday that this accusation is largely true, as can be seen from the judgment published by the Chamber of Commerce in a press release on Thursday. Accordingly, the BaZ and the lead journalist obliged to delete nine out of 13 reports completely, and three others partially.
Move on open
As soon as the ruling is legally binding, the newspaper must also publish an outline on its website for six months with a reference to the full ruling of the cantonal court. Whether the case will be taken to the Federal Court remains open for the time being.
According to the ruling of the cantonal court, the Chamber of Commerce as plaintiff must bear 30 percent of the proceedings, the BaZ and the journalist 70 percent of the costs. They have to pay the Chamber of Commerce compensation of around 115,000 Swiss francs.
On the other hand, the court rejected the claim of the chamber of commerce, which had BaZ had waged an unfair media campaign against them with the various articles.
False and misleading statements
In a statement on Thursday evening, the Baselland Chamber of Commerce expressed its satisfaction with the judge's decision. The cantonal court had found that the accusations were practically all unfair and therefore groundless. The organization had been disparaged by false and misleading statements.
The only downer, according to the Chamber of Commerce, is that the court did not explicitly rule on a "media campaign" despite the unfairness of the reporting found. (SDA)
