Swiss court rules in favor of Tamedia in Pascal Broulis case

A Swiss court has sided with media group TX Group SA in a legal dispute initiated by former Vaud state councilor Pascal Broulis. The cantonal court in Vaud ruled that controversial articles published by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper between 2018 and 2019 were factually sound and did not unlawfully infringe upon Broulis's personal rights.

This second instance ruling overturns a previous decision by the civil court in Lausanne, which had found that some articles published in 2018 violated Broulis's personal rights. The case centered on articles that delved into Broulis's tax affairs, his travels to Russia, and potential conflicts of interest during his tenure as the canton's finance chief.

TX Group SA, in a statement to Keystone-ATS, indicated that the court concluded the entirety of the contested articles constituted admissible journalistic work. The dispute highlighted a divergence on the definition of personal rights infringement, with the initial ruling favoring Broulis and the appellate court now siding with the newspaper's reporting.