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Through a recent landmark judgment, the Swiss Bundesgericht (Federal Tribunal) strengthened the principle of public court proceedings and the right of the media to effectively monitor the judicial system. The court unanimously upheld a complaint lodged by four journalists following their exclusion from a criminal trial concerning the attempted murder of a man by his wife’s lover. The Zürcher Obergericht (Zurich High Court) had banned the media (and other members of the public) from attending the proceedings and the subsequent sentencing on the grounds that the victim and his two children might...

On 14 June 2015 the Swiss population approved a change in the Federal Law on Radio and Television (LRTV) with a view to introducing a new system of collecting the licence fee (see IRIS 2015-7/5). The purpose of this revision of the legislation was to replace the former licence fee, based on possession of a radio or television, by an audiovisual licence fee now payable by all households and certain companies. The audiovisual licence fee makes it possible to adapt the legal framework to technological developments, since radio and television programmes can now be received almost anywhere at any time,...

The Swiss Confederation’s cinematographic policy aims to encourage the creation of films as well as to enhance the diversity and quality of what is on offer. Because of the country’s linguistic and cultural pluralism, the cinema market in Switzerland is fragmented; it is not big enough to develop in a standard market economy. Measures aimed at promoting cinematographic diversity therefore ensure that a variety of films are on offer throughout the country. To achieve this, Article 19 (2) of the Cinema Act (Loi sur le Cinéma - LCin) requires those companies wishing to screen a film for the first...

On 17 June 2016 the Federal Council published a much awaited report on the public-service electronic media. The report will be discussed in the Federal Parliament in the autumn, in a particularly tense political climate as the Swiss broadcasting company (Société Suisse de Radiodiffusion et Télévision - SSR) is being severely criticised regarding its funding and its mission as a public-service broadcaster. The report begins by analysing the evolution of the audiovisual public service and the offer and consumption of electronic media in Switzerland. It also presents the technological, economic, legal,...

The right to an interest in follow-on sales (“droit de suite”) granted to plastic artists entitles them to receive part of the sale price when art dealers sell their works on the secondary market. This right is embodied in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, as revised in Paris on 24 July 1971 (Article 14ter), and recognised in the legislation of 77 countries, mainly in Europe and southern and central America. It does not exist, however, in the USA or in China, two of the world’s principal art markets. The States signatory to the Berne Convention are free to...