Decision on Violation of Personality by Designation as "Verbal Racism"

Facts

This case involved a lawsuit for violation of personality due to the entry "Frauenfeld TG, 5 November 2009" on the website of the S. Foundation, which was published under the heading "Verbal Racism". The plaintiff, X., had participated in a rally of the Young SVP Thurgau for the popular initiative "Against the Construction of Minarets" and had given a speech there. The S. Foundation (the appellant) had categorized and commented on this speech on its website under "Verbal Racism".

The High Court upheld the lawsuit and prohibited the Foundation from further publishing the entry under "Verbal Racism". The Foundation then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It stated that the categorization and commentary of the statements as "Verbal Racism" violated the honor of the speaker X. The designation "Verbal Racism" was capable of lowering X. in the esteem of his fellow human beings, as he was accused of socially disapproved behavior.

While the Foundation could generally invoke an overriding interest, the assessment of the statements as "Verbal Racism" was not justifiable. The statements of the…