Facts
On July 1, 2009, Swiss Television DRS aired the contribution "FDP and the Pharmaceutical Lobby" in the news magazine "10 vor 10". The topic of the report was the thesis that the FDP (Free Democratic Party) is "in cahoots" with the pharmaceutical lobby. The assumption was illustrated by personnel changes between the FDP's general secretariat and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as based on parliamentary visitor cards.
The "FDP.The Liberals" then turned to the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI), which upheld the complaint and found that the contribution had violated the principle of objectivity. However, the Federal Supreme Court overturned the UBI's decision and found that the controversial contribution did not violate the principle of objectivity.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court stated that the composition of the UBI meets the requirements for a fair trial and the constitutional judge. The regulations on the composition of the adjudicating body and the casting vote of the president in the event of a tie can be interpreted as constitutionally compliant and are not applied in the UBI's practice in a way that would violate the guarantees of Art. 29 and 30 of the Federal Constitution.
Regarding the objectivity of the contribution, the Federal Supreme Court found that the contribution as a whole met the…