Facts
Marti is the owner of the "Actualis" cinema in Bern. From September 26, 1969 to January 27, 1970, he showed the American film "The Secret Sex Life of Romeo and Juliet". The film was seized on January 27, 1970. The President of the Criminal Court VI of Bern acquitted Marti of the charge of obscene publications on September 25, 1970 and lifted the seizure of the film. This judgment was confirmed by the High Court of the Canton of Bern on January 22, 1971.
The Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office and the Attorney General of the Canton of Bern filed a nullity appeal with the request to set aside the contested judgment and to remand the case to the lower instance so that it may order the confiscation and destruction of the film "The Secret Sex Life of Romeo and Juliet".
Considerations
The Court of Cassation concluded that the film "The Secret Sex Life of Romeo and Juliet" is obscene within the meaning of Art. 204 No. 3 of the Swiss Criminal Code. The film extensively depicts crude intimate scenes unfolding in unusual locations, interrupted by an orgy and a depiction of sexual perversion. The representations of sexual acts lack sober objectivity and sometimes descend into pornography.
Therefore, the…