17
GROPPERA RADIO AG AND OTHERS v. SWITZERLAND JUDGMENT
August 1986 to the Commission, of an infringement of their freedom
personally to receive such information and ideas.
51. In short, the applicants can claim to be victims of the alleged
violation.
II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 10 (art. 10)
52. Groppera Radio AG, and also Mr Marquard, Mr Fröhlich and Mr
Caluzzi, complained of the ban on cable retransmission in Switzerland of
the programmes broadcast by Sound Radio from Italy. They relied on
Article 10 (art. 10) of the Convention, which provides:
"1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include
freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without
interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not
prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema
enterprises.
2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities,
may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are
prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of
national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or
crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or
rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or
for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary."
A. Whether there was an interference
53. In the applicants’ submission, the administrative decisions of 21
March and 31 July 1984 taken against the co-operative under the Federal
Council’s 1983 Ordinance interfered with their right to impart information
and ideas regardless of frontiers; the decisions prevented subscribers to the
cable networks from receiving the broadcasts from the Pizzo Groppera and
thus amounted in effect to a ban on those programmes, which was the more
serious as in Switzerland two-thirds of the population can receive broadcasts
by cable, and the mountainous terrain often makes reception over the air
difficult and sometimes even impossible.
54. Without expressly disputing that Article 10 (art. 10) was applicable,
the Government denied that the applicants had any interest in taking
proceedings. Sound Radio, they said firstly, used a transmitter of
considerable power allowing it to "blanket" the Zürich area and had never
been jammed. Secondly, the station had ceased broadcasting on 1
September 1984 not only because of the damage caused by the lightning but
also, and more particularly, for economic reasons. Thirdly, it broadcast
programmes whose content - mainly light music and commercials - could
raise doubts as to whether they were "information" and "ideas".