Arbitration between Broulis and Tamedia seems futile
The Vaudois judiciary on Friday dealt with the civil suit for personal injury filed by State Councilor Pascal Broulis (FDP) against a journalist of the Tages-Anzeiger. A final attempt at arbitration, which the judge encouraged, seems futile.
The case concerns eleven articles published in the major Zurich daily newspaper about a possible tax optimization and the trips to Russia of the finance director, who considers himself the victim of a smear campaign (Werbewoche.ch reported). The author of these articles, which are incriminating from Broulis' point of view, is the West Switzerland correspondent of the Zurich daily newspaper.
The preparatory and highly technical hearing on Friday afternoon at the Montbenon District Court in Lausanne lasted less than an hour and took place in the presence of Broulis and his lawyer, as well as the journalist and his three lawyers. It consisted mainly of settling procedural issues, witness hearings, and new evidence and documents to be included in the file.
Previous attempts at mediation already failed
The civil proceedings, which were opened in March 2019, are directed against the former Tamedia Group (now TX Group), the journalist and the former editor-in-chief of the Zurich-based medium. A conciliation between the two parties had not been reached in April 2019. The lawsuit was subsequently filed in September of the same year.
On Friday, Judge Stéphane Coletta asked both parties if there was a last chance for mediation, even going so far as to encourage them to resume negotiations on an agreement. Lawyers for the two parties, however, were less than optimistic about that option, recalling previous attempts that had failed.
When questioned as they left the court, both parties did not formally close the door on a final mediation attempt, but considered it "complicated." The trial is expected to begin next spring with the real issue, the content of the articles.
Exonerated in investigation
Broulis had always denied the accusation of tax optimization. The media had denounced the fact that he lived mainly in Lausanne but paid his taxes in Sainte-Croix in the Vaud Jura region, which has favorable tax conditions. Also disputed were the deductions of 15,000 francs for travel expenses for the distance between home and work. An independent investigation finally exonerated the Vaudois finance director in May 2018. However, the report criticized the canton's current tax practice.
However, the affair did not end there. The journalist then published articles about trips to Russia by personalities, including Broulis, accompanied by billionaire Frederik Paulsen, who was then president of the Ferring Group in St-Prex VD and benefited from a lump-sum tax.
After completing preliminary investigations, the attorney general concluded in October 2018 that no crime had been committed and that Broulis had not enjoyed an advantage incompatible with his office.
Proceedings discontinued
In another case, in April 2020, the public prosecutor's office of the Canton of Zurich discontinued charges of libel and defamation Broulis had brought against another German-language journalist from Tamedia at the end of 2018. In the opinion of the public prosecutor's office, the article in question did not constitute defamation in the criminal law sense. (SDA)
