Facts
The case concerns an article published in the newspaper « Bieler Zeitung/le Journal de Bienne » in January 1974, which accused two architects, Heinrich Stettler and Rudolf Haller, of having made a profit of 430,000 Swiss francs in 24 hours through real estate speculation. The two architects brought an action against the ten employees of the newspaper, demanding a correction of the article and damages.
The Court of Appeal of the Canton of Berne ruled that the article was inaccurate and that the architects' personal rights had been violated. The court ordered the employees of the newspaper to publish a correction on the first page of the newspaper and authorized the architects to publish the court decision in another newspaper.
The employees of the newspaper appealed this decision to the Federal Court, arguing that the correction was not justified and that only the two employees who had written the article were responsible.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal and confirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal. It ruled that the article had violated the architects' personal rights and that the correction was justified.
The Federal Court considered that the article was likely to harm the architects' reputation, as it accused them of real estate speculation, which is considered reprehensible by public opinion. The Court also ruled that the employees of the newspaper were responsible for the publication of the article, as they had the opportunity to read and verify its content before publication.
The Federal Court also rejected the argument of the…