Facts
The case concerns the right of reply of Thermoselect S.A. to an article published in the daily newspaper "La Regione", published by Regio Presse S.A. On December 1, 1995, Thermoselect S.A. requested the editorial staff of the newspaper to publish a reply to the article, under the same conditions as the article. Since the editorial staff had expressed reservations about the form and content of the proposed text, Thermoselect S.A. submitted a new text, which was published on December 16, 1995, but in a reduced form compared to what was requested.
On December 27, 1995, Thermoselect S.A. requested the Pretore (Magistrate) of the district of Bellinzona to order Regio Presse S.A. to publish the full text of the reply under the same printing conditions as the contested article. The Pretore dismissed the action, but the Cantonal Court reformed the first-instance judgment, fully upholding the action.
Regio Presse S.A. then appealed to the Federal Tribunal, requesting the reform of the Cantonal Court's decision.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal held that the Cantonal Court did not violate federal law in requiring the publication of the reply under the same graphic and visual conditions as the contested article.
According to the Federal Tribunal, Art. 28k para. 1 CC does not impose an absolute obligation to publish the reply in the same section or on the same page as the original writing, but requires that the reply be disseminated in a way that reaches, as far as possible, the same circle of people who became aware of the contested statement of facts. Therefore, if the contested article was published in a particularly prominent manner, the reply must benefit from equally…