Facts
In a television program, Z., a student's parent, stated about a teacher at T. school that "it would perhaps be better to also take care of the children who are left 'with their tormentor' while waiting for him to get better". Teacher L., who was the only man in this school, filed a complaint for defamation against Z. The Police Court of Geneva convicted Z. of defamation, a decision upheld on appeal by the Geneva Court of Justice. Z. then appealed for nullity before the DFC.Considerations
The DFC dismissed the appeal for nullity. It considered that Z.'s statements describing the teacher as a "tormentor" were likely to make him contemptible as a human being and therefore constituted defamation within the meaning of Art. 173 para. 1 SCC.
Regarding the proof of good faith invoked by Z., the DFC recalled that according to Art. 173 para. 2 SCC, good faith is not enough, the accused must also have had serious reasons to believe in the truthfulness of his allegations. However, in this case, Z. failed to establish that she had serious…