Facts
The Balke estate community, the owner of a house in Zurich, terminated the room rental of Miss Werder. Miss Werder filed an objection to the termination, whereupon a conciliation hearing took place before the Rental Office of the City of Zurich. The representative of Miss Werder, lic. iur. Breitenmoser, withdrew the objection and stated that it was no longer reasonable for the tenant to live with these "psychopaths". The Balke brothers, the representatives of the landlord side, felt offended by this designation and filed a defamation lawsuit.
The District Court of Zurich found Breitenmoser guilty of defamation under Art. 177 of the Swiss Criminal Code and sentenced him to a conditional fine. The High Court of the Canton of Zurich upheld this judgment on appeal.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that according to established case law, Art. 173 et seq. of the Swiss Criminal Code only protects personal honor, but not reputation or the feeling of being an honorable person. Statements that lower someone's social standing are not covered by this.
However, the Federal Supreme Court finds that the designation "psychopath" was defamatory in the present case. While psychopathy itself is not a disease for which the person concerned would be responsible, it is nevertheless expected that the psychopath controls his character flaws and behaves in a socially adapted manner. If he does not do so, he generally acts reprehensibly, so that…