Spiess-Hegglin and Ringier move forward with verdict
In the legal dispute between Jolanda Spiess-Hegglin and the Ringier publishing house, both parties are dragging on with the ruling of the cantonal court. While Spiess-Hegglin continues to demand an apology, Ringier does not want to have to pay any satisfaction.
The judgment of the court of first instance held that the Ringier title View had violated the personality of former cantonal councillor Spiess-Hegglin in reporting on the Zug sex affair in 2014 (Werbewoche.ch reported). The victim was awarded 20,000 francs in compensation, but the court rejected the request to publish an apology.
Spiess-Hegglin is now claiming this before the high court. An appeal against the verdict has been filed, her lawyer confirmed to the Keystone-SDA news agency, according to a report by CH Media on Tuesday. The aim is to set an example against the lack of a culture of apology in the Swiss media.
Ringier also does not accept the ruling, which was handed down at the beginning of May. The company does not share the views of the Zug Cantonal Court on the two main points, the publishing house said on request. Ringier continues to be of the opinion that the finding of a violation of personality rights was wrongful and that, accordingly, no satisfaction should be awarded. For this reason, Ringier has filed an appeal against the first-instance ruling.
The civil lawsuit was about an article that the View on December 24, 2014. In it, the tabloid showed the then Zug Canton Council members Spiess-Hegglin (Greens) and Markus Hürlimann (SVP) with their names and pictures, and ran the headline: "Sex scandal involving SVP politician: Did he ravish her?"
According to the judges, the violation of personality was due to the fact that the name and picture of an alleged victim of a sexual offense, i.e. intimate data, had been published. There was no overriding public interest in the publication of this data. (SDA)
