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European Court of Human Rights


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URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1994/13.html
Cite as: (1994) 18 EHRR 276, 18 EHRR 276, [1994] ECHR 13

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            In the case of Scherer v. Switzerland*,

     

            The European Court of Human Rights, sitting, in accordance with

    Article 43 (art. 43) of the Convention for the Protection of Human

    Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ("the Convention") and the relevant

    provisions of the Rules of Court, as a Chamber composed of the

    following judges:

     

            Mr  R. Ryssdal, President,

            Mr  R. Bernhardt,

            Mr  A. Spielmann,

            Mr  I. Foighel,

            Mr  J.M. Morenilla,

            Mr  M.A. Lopes Rocha,

            Mr  L. Wildhaber,

            Mr  G. Mifsud Bonnici,

            Mr  D. Gotchev,

     

    and also of Mr M.-A. Eissen, Registrar, and Mr H. Petzold, Deputy

    Registrar,

     

            Having deliberated in private on 28 January and 23 March 1994,

     

            Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on the

    last-mentioned date:

     

    _______________

    * Note by the Registrar.  The case is numbered 19/1993/414/493.  The

    first number is the case's position on the list of cases referred to

    the Court in the relevant year (second number).  The last two numbers

    indicate the case's position on the list of cases referred to the Court

    since its creation and on the list of the corresponding originating

    applications to the Commission.

    _______________

     

    PROCEDURE

     

    1.      The case was referred to the Court by the European Commission

    of Human Rights ("the Commission") and by the Government of the Swiss

    Confederation ("the Government") on 13 April and 3 May 1993

    respectively, within the three-month period laid down by

    Article 32 para. 1 and Article 47 (art. 32-1, art. 47) of the

    Convention.  It originated in an application (no. 17116/90) against

    Switzerland lodged with the Commission under Article 25 (art. 25) by

    Mr Bruno Scherer, a Swiss citizen, on 6 August 1990.

     

            The Commission's request referred to Articles 44 and 48

    (art. 44, art. 48) and to the declaration whereby Switzerland

    recognised the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court (Article 46)

    (art. 46); the Government's application referred to Articles 45, 47 and

    48 (art. 45, art. 47, art. 48).  The object of the request and of the

    application was to obtain a decision as to whether the facts of the

    case disclosed a breach by the respondent State of its obligations

    under Articles 6 para. 1, 8 and 10 (art. 6-1, art. 8, art. 10).

     

    2.      In response to the enquiry made in accordance with

    Rule 33 para. 3 (d) of the Rules of Court, Mr Ludwig Minelli,

    Rechtsanwalt, who had acted for the applicant before the Commission,

    informed the Registrar on 3 May 1993 that his client had died.  On

    24 May 1993 he notified the Registrar that the applicant's executor

    wanted the proceedings to continue and had appointed him as his

    representative (Rule 30).  For reasons of convenience Mr Scherer will

    continue to be referred to in this judgment as "the applicant".  In the

    proceedings before the Commission he was designated by the initial S.,

    but his counsel has consented to the disclosure of his identity.

     

    3.      The Chamber to be constituted included ex officio

    Mr L. Wildhaber, the elected judge of Swiss nationality (Article 43 of

    the Convention) (art. 43), and Mr R. Ryssdal, the President of the

    Court (Rule 21 para. 3 (b)).  On 23 April 1993, in the presence of the

    Registrar, the President drew by lot the names of the other seven

    members, namely Mr R. Bernhardt, Mr A. Spielmann, Mr I. Foighel,

    Mr J.M. Morenilla, Mr M.A. Lopes Rocha, Mr G. Mifsud Bonnici and

    Mr D. Gotchev (Article 43 in fine of the Convention and

    Rule 21 para. 4) (art. 43).

     

    4.      As President of the Chamber (Rule 21 para. 5), Mr Ryssdal,

    acting through the registry, consulted the Agent of the Government, the

    applicant's lawyer and the Delegate of the Commission on the

    organisation of the proceedings (Rules 37 para. 1 and 38).  Pursuant

    to the order made in consequence, the Registrar received the

    Government's memorial on 30 September 1993 and the applicant's memorial

    on 4 October 1993.  On 2 December 1993 the Secretary to the Commission

    informed him that the Delegate would submit his observations at the

    hearing.

     

            On 1 July 1993 the President had given the applicant leave to

    use the German language (Rule 27 para. 3).

     

    5.      In accordance with the President's decision, the hearing took

    place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on

    25 January 1994.  The Court had held a preparatory meeting beforehand.

     

            There appeared before the Court:

     

    (a)  for the Government

     

         Mr O. Jacot-Guillarmod, Assistant Director of the

            Federal Office of Justice,                             Agent,

         Mr J. Lindenmann, Department of European Law and

            International Affairs, Federal Office of Justice,    Counsel;

     

    (b)  for the Commission

     

         Mr M.P. Pellonpää,                                     Delegate;

     

    (c)  for the applicant

     

         Mr L. Minelli, Rechtsanwalt,                            Counsel.

     

            The Court heard addresses by Mr Jacot-Guillarmod, Mr Pellonpää

    and Mr Minelli, and also replies to a question put by one of its

    members.

     

    AS TO THE FACTS

     

    I.      The circumstances of the case

     

    6.      Mr Bruno Scherer, a Swiss citizen who died on 13 March 1992,

    ran a sex shop in Zürich for homosexuals.  The shop sold, among other

    things, magazines, books and video films.  The nature of the

    establishment was not apparent to passers-by, but customers knew about

    it through advertisements to be found in specialist magazines or at

    homosexuals' meeting-places.  At the back of the shop there was a room

    seating twelve people that was used for showing video films, which were

    changed every week or every fortnight.  Customers heard of the films

    by word of mouth.

     

    7.      From 21 to 23 November 1983 nine people saw the film New York

    City, which lasted two hours and was made up almost exclusively of

    sexual acts.  Any interested person of the male sex could gain entry

    to the room on presentation of a membership card and payment of an

    admission charge of 15 Swiss francs (CHF) or by purchasing six

    magazines for over CHF 50.

     

            1.  Proceedings conducted by the Zürich district attorney's

                office

     

    8.      On 23 November 1983 the sex shop was searched; the Zürich

    district attorney's office (Bezirksanwaltschaft) confiscated the film

    New York City, the video recorder and the film-show takings of CHF 60

    and brought proceedings against the applicant.

     

            On 28 November the applicant was questioned by the police.

     

    9.      On 15 March 1984 the district attorney's office issued a

    sentence order (Strafbefehl) whereby Mr Scherer was fined CHF 6,000 for

    publishing obscene items (Article 204 of the Swiss Criminal Code - see

    paragraph 21 below) and driving while under the influence of alcohol.

     

            2.  Proceedings in the Zürich District Court

     

    10.     On an appeal (Einspruch) by Mr Scherer, proceedings were

    instituted in the Zürich District Court (Bezirksgericht).  On

    27 June 1984 the court fined the defendant CHF 1,000 for drunken

    driving but acquitted him on the charge of publishing obscene items.

     

            It noted that only a small number of people had been allowed

    to see the film, namely those who knew about it and wanted to see it.

    The nature of the shop had not been discernible from the street; those

    wishing to attend showings had had to vouch that they were homosexuals

    or produce a membership card; and admissions to the sex shop had been

    controlled, so that undesirables could be kept out.

     

            Mr Scherer stated that he had thought a plain-clothes policeman

    who had been in the projection room was a homosexual.  The court

    accepted this statement as, in its view, the fact that the defendant

    could remember how the policeman had behaved, although he had left the

    room very quickly, showed that admissions had indeed been supervised.

     

            Lastly, given the limited audience, the court considered it

    impossible to maintain that obscene items had been displayed "in

    public" within the meaning of Article 204 of the Criminal Code.  The

    defendant had taken all necessary precautions to ensure that no one was

    unwillingly confronted with the items in question.

     

            3.  First set of proceedings before the Canton of Zürich Court

                of Appeal

     

    11.     The Zürich public prosecutor's office (Staatsanwaltschaft)

    appealed against that judgment.  After hearing the parties, the Canton

    of Zürich Court of Appeal (Obergericht) sentenced Mr Scherer on

    18 January 1985 to a fine of CHF 4,000 for publishing obscene items and

    for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

     

            On the first count the court held that the aim of Article 204

    of the Criminal Code was to protect the public in a wider sense.  It

    took into account several factors, including the conditions of

    admission to the back of the shop, the fact that the membership card

    did not carry any particulars of the bearer, and the applicant's

    statement that he could tell whether or not a person was a homosexual.

    The court continued in the following terms:

     

              "It is not possible to prevent a display being classified as

            public merely by deliberately restricting the number of those

            who see it; the audience must be well defined and able to be

            checked ... .  Contrary to the opinion of the court below, the

            defendant's film show was a public one, because it was

            accessible not to an objectively limited group consisting of

            a small number of individuals, but to an unlimited number of

            people, namely all homosexuals and bisexuals.  In particular,

            that being so, the audience could not be sufficiently checked

            ... .  In addition, the defendant could not tell merely from

            a person's appearance whether or not he was a homosexual, as

            he could not know him personally when meeting him for the

            first time as a customer ... .  Thus, without any further ado,

            the defendant admitted a young plain-clothes policeman, who

            was investigating the sex shop, to see the pornographic film

            in question, because he had mistaken him for a homosexual."

     

            The applicant had requested the court to call the policeman as

    a witness.  It refused to do so on the ground, inter alia, that it was

    impracticable to take oral evidence from all the public servants who

    had taken part in the investigation.

     

            4.  First set of proceedings in the Canton of Zürich Court of

                Cassation

     

    12.     Mr Scherer lodged an application for a declaration of nullity

    (Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde) with the Zürich Court of Cassation

    (Kassationsgericht), which granted it on 25 November 1985.  The court

    ruled that the Court of Appeal should have heard the policeman as a

    witness.  The judgment was served on the applicant on 27 December.

     

            5.  Second set of proceedings in the Canton of Zürich Court of

                Appeal

     

    13.     The proceedings resumed in the Court of Appeal.  On

    28 August 1986 the court summoned the parties to a hearing on

    21 October, during which the policeman gave evidence.  On 29 October

    the court sentenced the defendant to a fine of CHF 4,000 for publishing

    obscene items and for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

    The judgment was served on the defendant on 17 February 1987.

     

            6.  Second set of proceedings in the Canton of Zürich Court of

                Cassation

     

    14.     On 2 March 1987 Mr Scherer again applied to the Canton of

    Zürich Court of Cassation for a declaration of nullity.  He relied,

    inter alia, on Article 10 (art. 10) of the Convention and complained

    of the length of the proceedings.  He asked the court to defer its

    decision until the European Court of Human Rights had given judgment

    in the case of Müller and Others v. Switzerland** and the Federal Court

    had given judgment in another case concerning him.

     

    _______________

    ** Note by the Registrar.  Judgment delivered on 24 May 1988

    (Series A no. 133).

    _______________

     

            The public prosecutor's office filed submissions on

    24 March 1987.

     

    15.     The Court of Cassation delivered its judgment, which was

    twenty-seven pages long, on 2 May 1988.  It refused Mr Scherer's

    request, on the ground that it was not certain when the European Court

    of Human Rights would rule on the Müller case, and fined the defendant

    CHF 800 for driving while under the influence of alcohol.  It acquitted

    him of publishing obscene items, however.

     

            After stating that it was not for the States to define the

    scope of the term "expression" in Article 10 (art. 10) and that freedom

    of expression covered freedom of individual communication, including

    freedom to show pornographic films, the Court of Cassation gave the

    following analysis:

     

              "On the basis of the facts which led to the conviction

            complained of, there was no risk of anyone being confronted

            with the film in question unintentionally, or even against

            their will.  Admittedly, the membership card, which entitled

            its bearer to enter the projection room, could be obtained or

            issued without great difficulty ... , so that it is not

            possible, in this case, to consider that there was a private

            or closed group of individuals.  But on the other hand, it is

            beyond doubt that the sex shop in question and, a fortiori,

            the separate projection room adjoining it were visited only by

            individuals who were aware of what awaited them and intended

            to see a film of this kind ... .  If the sole objective is in

            fact indirectly - by means of criminal proceedings instituted

            against the applicant - to prevent adults from seeing the film

            in question although they wish to do so and are aware of its

            subject-matter, no 'pressing social need' for such a measure

            can be perceived.  If it were thought that there was a

            pressing need to protect individuals from their own desire to

            see obscene publications, it would logically be necessary to

            punish private showings of such films too.  That is not the

            case, however."

     

            7.  First set of proceedings in the Federal Court

     

    16.     On 9 May 1988 the Zürich public prosecutor's office lodged an

    application for a declaration of nullity with the Federal Court;

    Mr Scherer replied in writing on 19 June 1988.

     

    17.     On 20 September 1988 the Federal Court (Criminal Cassation

    Division) set aside the judgment of the Zürich Court of Cassation and

    remitted the case to that court.  The Federal Court held that the

    failure to apply Article 204 of the Criminal Code on the ground that

    it did not comply with Article 10 (art. 10) of the Convention

    constituted a breach of federal law.

     

            The court said the following:

     

              "It is impossible to see why the morals of adults (who

            include weak, easily influenced individuals) and consequently

            the morals of society as a whole should not also be protected.

            At all events, this view lies within the margin of

            appreciation which the European Court of Human Rights

            recognises that member States have and takes due account of

            the different opinions that may prevail in a democratic

            society as to the requirements of the protection of morals.

     

              ...

     

              The difference [between the Müller case and] the case before

            the court today lies in the fact that in the instant case

            neither any unwilling adult nor any youth was

            confronted with the film New York City.  A punishment is

            nevertheless justifiable in such cases also.  As stated above,

            the purpose of Article 204 of the Criminal Code is to

            safeguard public decency and morals.  No obscene item is to be

            distributed or displayed in public.  To achieve this

            objective, a prohibition has been enacted to which criminal

            penalties are attached.  A criminal provision of this kind is

            necessary because the protection sought cannot be achieved (at

            least not as efficiently) in any other way." (Judgments of the

            Swiss Federal Court (ATF), vol. 114 [1988], part IV,

            pp. 121-22)

     

            Lastly, the Federal Court held that for the applicant to invoke

    the right to freedom of expression when his obvious intention was

    merely to derive substantial financial profit from trading in

    pornography was an abuse of process (rechtsmissbräuchlich).

     

            The judgment was served on Mr Scherer on 14 November 1988.

     

            8.  Third set of proceedings in the Canton of Zürich Court of

                Cassation

     

    18.     In a judgment of 3 April 1989, served on 13 April, the Canton

    of Zürich Court of Cassation found Mr Scherer guilty of publishing

    obscene items and fined him CHF 2,500 in addition to the fine imposed

    on 2 May 1988 (see paragraph 15 above).

     

            It held that the Federal Court had not determined whether it

    was still possible to acquit on the basis of an interpretation of

    Article 204 of the Criminal Code consistent with federal law; however,

    the Federal Court had undoubtedly remitted the case to it for a

    conviction on the strength of that provision.

     

            9.  Second set of proceedings in the Federal Court

     

    19.     Mr Scherer lodged a public-law appeal with the Federal Court,

    alleging a breach of Article 6 (art. 6) of the Convention, on account

    of an infringement of the rights of the defence, and of Articles 8 and

    10 (art. 8, art. 10).

     

    20.     The Federal Court (First Public-Law Division) dismissed the

    appeal on 31 January 1990.

     

            It noted that the applicant had rightly not sought to challenge

    the compatibility of Article 204 of the Criminal Code with Article 10

    (art. 10) of the Convention.  It held that the appeal was inadmissible

    with regard to Mr Scherer's complaint of an indirect breach of Articles

    8 and 10 (art. 8, art. 10), as he should have lodged an application for

    a declaration of nullity for that purpose.  The Criminal Cassation

    Division of the Federal Court, however, had already held that the

    conviction complied with Article 10 (art. 10) (see paragraph 17 above).

     

            The judgment was served on the applicant on 16 February 1990.

     

    II.     Relevant domestic law

     

        A.  The law applicable at the material time

     

            1.  The Swiss Criminal Code

     

    21.     Article 204 of the Swiss Criminal Code provides:

     

              "1. Anyone who makes or has in his possession any writings,

            pictures, films or other items which are obscene with a view

            to trading in them, distributing them or displaying them in

            public, or who, for the above purposes, imports, transports or

            exports such items or puts them into circulation in any way,

            or who openly or secretly deals in them or publicly

            distributes or displays them or by way of trade supplies them

            for hire, or who announces or makes known in any way, with a

            view to facilitating such prohibited circulation or trade,

            that anyone is engaged in any of the aforesaid punishable

            activities, or who announces or makes known how or through

            whom such items may be directly or indirectly procured, shall

            be imprisoned or fined.

     

              2. Anyone supplying or displaying such items to a person

            under the age of 18 shall be imprisoned or fined.

     

              3. The court shall order the destruction of the items."

     

            2.  The Federal Court's case-law

     

    22.     The Federal Court has consistently held that any works or items

    which offend, in a manner that is difficult to accept, the sense of

    sexual decency are obscene; the effect may be to arouse a normal person

    sexually or to disgust or repel him (ATF, vol. 83 [1957], part IV,

    pp. 19-25; vol. 86 [1960], part IV, pp. 19-25; vol. 87 [1961], part IV,

    pp. 73-85); making such items available to an indeterminate number of

    people amounts to "publication" of them; their consent should not be

    taken into account (ATF, vol. 96 [1970], part IV, p. 68; vol. 100

    [1975], part IV, p. 237).

     

        B.  The subsequent regime

     

            1.  The change in the case-law

     

    23.     In a judgment of 21 June 1991 (ATF, vol. 117 [1991], part IV,

    pp. 276-83) delivered after the events giving rise to the instant case

    had occurred, the Federal Court departed from earlier case-law by

    ruling that, regard being had to the evolution of ideas, the threshold

    of tolerance had to be higher for films which could not be classified

    as hard pornography, provided that those who saw them had been warned

    of the subject-matter and nature of the film and that persons under the

    age of 18 had not been admitted.

     

            2.  The change in the legislation

     

    24.     On 1 October 1992, when the Federal Law of 21 June 1991 came

    into force, the provisions of section V of the Swiss Criminal Code

    ("Offences against sexual propriety") were amended.  Article 197, which

    replaced Article 204, reads as follows:

     

              "1. Anyone who offers, shows or makes accessible or

            available to a person under the age of 16 pornographic

            writings, sound or video recordings, pictures or other items

            or pornographic performances, or who broadcasts them on radio

            or television, shall be imprisoned or fined.

     

              2. Anyone who displays or shows in public any items or

            performances referred to in paragraph 1, or who offers them to

            a person unasked, shall be fined.

     

              Anyone who, when an exhibition or performance on closed

            premises is being held, warns those attending of the

            pornographic nature of the exhibition or performance shall not

            be liable to punishment.

     

              3. Anyone who makes, imports, stores, puts into circulation,

            promotes, displays, offers, shows or makes accessible or

            available items or performances referred to in paragraph 1

            which depict sexual acts with children, animals, human

            excrement or acts of violence shall be imprisoned or fined.

     

              The items shall be confiscated.

     

              4. If the offender acted with a view to financial gain, the

            punishment shall be imprisonment and a fine.

     

              5. The items or performances referred to in paragraphs 1 to

            3 shall not be deemed pornographic when they have a cultural

            or scientific value worthy of protection."

     

    PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION

     

    25.     Mr Scherer applied to the Commission on 6 August 1990.  He

    complained under Article 6 (art. 6) of the Convention of the length and

    unfairness of the criminal proceedings against him.  He also relied on

    Articles 8 and 10 (art. 8, art. 10) in respect, firstly, of his

    conviction for showing the film New York City and the ban on showing

    that film on his own premises and, secondly, of later convictions for

    selling obscene publications.

     

    26.     On 11 May 1992 the Commission declared the complaints

    concerning the fairness of the proceedings and the later convictions

    inadmissible either as being manifestly ill-founded or for failure to

    exhaust domestic remedies; it declared admissible the remainder of the

    application (no. 17116/90).

     

            In its report of 14 January 1993 (made under Article 31)

    (art. 31), it concluded that:

     

            (a) there had been a violation of Article 10 (art. 10) (by

    twelve votes to five);

     

            (b) it was not necessary to examine the complaint under

    Article 8 (art. 8) (unanimously); and

     

            (c) there had been no violation of Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1)

    (by fifteen votes to two).

     

            The full text of the Commission's opinion and of the dissenting

    opinion contained in the report is reproduced as an annex to this

    judgment***.

     

    _______________

    *** Note by the Registrar. For practical reasons this annex will appear

    only with the printed version of the judgment (volume 287 of Series A

    of the Publications of the Court), but a copy of the Commission's

    report is available from the registry.

    _______________

     

    FINAL SUBMISSIONS TO THE COURT BY THE GOVERNMENT

     

    27.     In their memorial, the Government requested the Court

     

            "to hold that the Swiss authorities had not violated the

            European Convention on Human Rights in respect of the matters

            which had given rise to Mr Bruno Scherer's application".

     

    AS TO THE LAW

     

    STRIKING OUT OF THE LIST

     

    28.     In their memorial the Government also asked the Court to

    consider whether the instant case should not be struck out of its list

    under Rule 49 para. 2 of the Rules of Court, in view of Mr Scherer's

    death on 13 March 1992 (see paragraphs 2 and 6 above).

     

            They acknowledged that an applicant's death did not

    automatically end the proceedings before the Convention institutions

    but pointed out that the heirs could not claim a right to continue them

    in their own name.  It was in any event necessary to ascertain whether

    considerations of public interest required that the application should

    be examined further.

     

            In the instant case, in a statement of 13 May 1993 the

    applicant's executor had cited exclusively pecuniary grounds, namely

    that if a violation were found the estate would have "a claim against

    Switzerland for repayment of legal fees and costs which should be

    included in the division".  Reasons of that kind could not under any

    circumstances amount to "public interest" from the point of view of

    Article 6 para. 1 (art. 6-1) or a fortiori that of Articles 10 and 8

    (art. 10, art. 8).

     

    29.     At the hearing Mr Scherer's lawyer challenged the Government's

    argument.  He relied in the main on two grounds.

     

             He first referred to the wishes of his client, who had given

    him a power of attorney on a number of occasions and had expressed the

    desire that the case should be pursued to its conclusion.  Article 451

    of the Zürich Code of Criminal Procedure provided that a conviction

    could be quashed even where the person concerned was dead, and federal

    law now allowed the victim of a violation found by the Court or the

    Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to request that the

    contested proceedings be reopened.  The memorial to the Court had

    mentioned the heirs' interests only in the alternative.

     

            The applicant's lawyer maintained secondly that, even though

    Switzerland had since amended its legislation so that it complied more

    closely with the requirements of the Convention, a judgment by the

    Court would clarify a number of difficult issues.  This would be

    helpful to the respondent State and also to other Contracting Parties

    and the Commission.

     

    30.     The Delegate of the Commission likewise recommended that,

    regard being had to the Court's case-law, the case should be left on

    the list.  The most important consideration was what the heirs wanted -

    a clear, unequivocal criterion.  It was relevant in the instant case

    although the only interests pleaded had been pecuniary in nature.

     

    31.     Mr Scherer's lawyer informed the Registrar on 3 May 1993 that

    his client had died on 13 March 1992.  He then indicated on 24 May 1993

    that the applicant's executor wanted the proceedings to continue (see

    paragraph 2 above).  He did not at any time provide information

    concerning the heirs or their connection with the applicant.

     

            On a number of occasions the Court has accepted that the

    parents, spouse or children of a deceased applicant are entitled to

    take his place in the proceedings (see in particular the judgments

    Vocaturo v. Italy of 24 May 1991, Series A no. 206-C, p. 29, para. 2;

    G. v. Italy of 27 February 1992, Series A no. 228-F, p. 65, para. 2;

    Pandolfelli and Palumbo v. Italy of 27 February 1992, Series A

    no. 231-B, p. 16, para. 2; X v. France of 31 March 1992, Series A

    no. 234-C, p. 89, para. 26; and Raimondo v. Italy of 22 February 1994,

    Series A no. 281-A, p. 8, para. 2).  These cases have always involved

    close relatives.  There is nothing to show that this is the position

    here.

     

            Furthermore, the applicant's executor has not expressed any

    intention whatsoever of seeking, on Mr Scherer's behalf, to have the

    criminal proceedings reopened in Switzerland or to claim compensation

    for non-pecuniary damage in Strasbourg.

     

    32.     Under these circumstances Mr Scherer's death can be held to

    constitute a "fact of a kind to provide a solution of the matter"

    (Rule 49 para. 2 of the Rules of Court in force when the case was

    brought before the Court).  There is also no reason of ordre public

    (public policy) why the case should not be struck out of the list

    (Rule 49 para. 4), especially as, since the events giving rise to the

    instant case, the Federal Court's case-law on "obscene items" and the

    relevant Swiss legislation have undergone substantial changes (see

    paragraphs 23-24 above).  The case should accordingly be struck out of

    the list.

     

    FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT

     

            Decides by six votes to three to strike the case out of the

            list.

     

            Done in English and in French, and notified in writing under

    Rule 55 para. 2, second sub-paragraph, of the Rules of Court on

    25 March 1994.

     

    Signed: Rolv RYSSDAL

            President

     

    Signed: Marc-André EISSEN

            Registrar

     

            Mr Spielmann, Mr Foighel and Mr Morenilla expressed their

    disagreement with the operative provision (Rule 53 para. 2 in fine of

    the Rules of Court); they considered that the Court should have given

    judgment on the merits of the case.

     

    Initialled: R. R.

     

    Initialled: M.-A. E.

     


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SCHERER v. SWITZERLAND - 17116/90 - Chamber Judgment [1994] ECHR 13 (25 March 1994)