Facts
On 6 February 2007, Swiss Television broadcast a report on cosmetic surgeons in the "Kassensturz" program, which used covertly filmed footage of a conversation between a journalist and the cosmetic surgeon Dr. med. R. A. complained about the report to the responsible ombudsman's office and subsequently filed a complaint with the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI). The UBI upheld the complaint and found that the report had violated the physician's personality rights.
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG) then filed a complaint with the Federal Court, which upheld the SRG's complaint and overturned the UBI's decision.
Considerations
The Federal Court stated that the UBI is only competent to ensure compliance with broadcasting law regulations according to the Federal Act on Radio and Television, but not to assess infringements of personality rights. The latter is the responsibility of the ordinary civil and criminal courts.
The Federal Court emphasizes that the program supervision by the UBI serves to protect the unbiased formation of the public's will and opinion, but not primarily to enforce private concerns. An expansion of the UBI's jurisdiction to the protection of individual personality rights would neither be…