Facts
The case concerns Viktor Ferdinand Dammann, a reporter for a daily newspaper, who on 10 September 1997 informed an administrative assistant of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Zurich that he was in possession of a list with names and personal details of individuals who had been arrested in connection with a spectacular robbery. He asked the administrative assistant to check the Public Prosecutor's Office's records to see if these individuals had any prior convictions, particularly for drug-related offenses. The administrative assistant was willing to do so and transmitted the relevant information to Dammann.
Dammann was subsequently found guilty of incitement to breach of official secrecy by the High Court of the Canton of Zurich on 7 September 1999 and was fined 500 francs. Dammann lodged a federal appeal against this judgment, which was dismissed by the Federal Court on 1 May 2001.
Dammann then filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Dammann's conviction violated Art. 10 ECHR (freedom of expression). The Court recognized that this finding in itself constitutes adequate compensation for the moral damage suffered by the applicant.
Dammann then filed a revision request with the Federal Court, aiming to overturn the decision of the Federal Court's Court of Cassation of 1 May 2001 and to overturn the judgment of the High Court of the Canton of Zurich of 7 September 1999.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the revision request and found that the applicant was entitled to file the revision request and that it was filed within the time limit. The Court found that the grounds for revision were stated and that it was specified which amendment of the previous Federal Court decision and which restitution were being requested.
However, the Court rejected the request for reimbursement of costs incurred by Dammann in the proceedings before the cantonal authorities and the Federal Court, as these claims had already been made before the…