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In December 1996 the Swiss ambassador to the United States drew up a “strategic document”, classified as “confidential”, concerning possible strategies with regard the compensations due to Holocaust victims for unclaimed assets deposited in Swiss banks. The report was sent to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Bern and to a limited list of other persons. Martin Stoll, a journalist working for the Sonntags-Zeitung, also obtained a copy of this document, probably as a result of a breach of professional confidence by one of the persons who had received a copy of this strategic paper. Shortly...

The agreement on Switzerland’s participation in the MEDIA programme, concluded on 26 October 2004 between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) as part of the second round of bilateral negotiations, reached the end of its term on 31 December 2006 (see IRIS 2006-5: 9). Further to the negotiations launched in March 2007, the Swiss Confederation and the EU signed, on 11 October 2007, the renewal of this agreement so that Switzerland would be able to participate fully in the 2007 MEDIA programme. The text of the new agreement is only very slightly different to that of the agreement concluded in 2004....

In April 2007, the Swiss radio and television broadcasting company (SRG SSR) and the partner associations in the Audiovisual Pact concluded a test agreement defining the principles of a new video-on-demand offer on the Internet. The Audiovisual Pact was for the first time in 1996 and regularly renewed since then, and is intended to guarantee the continuity of production activities by reinforcing collaboration between SRG SSR and the Swiss cinematographic and audiovisual industry (see IRIS 2005-8: 10). The resources of the Audiovisual Pact are allocated to financing the production of fictional films,...

The Law on Radio and Television (LRTV) adopted by Parliament on 24 March 2006 (see IRIS 2006-4: 8) overhauled the Swiss audiovisual legal regime. To implement the provisions of the law, the Federal Council adopted a new Decree on Radio and Television (DRTV). The Decree entered into force on 1 April 2007. Broadcasters who command neither a share of fees nor guaranteed distribution, will no longer require a licence and will not have to fulfil a service mandate. They will merely be subject to compulsory registration. Private broadcasters now have more advertising options, and the share of the reception...

In a judgment of 21 September 2006, the European Court of Human Rights has come to the conclusion that the Swiss authorities have violated the freedom of expression of a journalist by placing a programme broadcast by the Swiss Public Broadcasting Corporation SSR under a legal embargo. In 1997, the SSR broadcast a critical documentary on the position of Switzerland during the Second World War. The documentary was part of a news programme, entitled “ Temps présent ” (“Present time”), for which the applicant, Daniel Monnat, was then responsible. The programme described the attitude of Switzerland...