TSB
Using the Swiss Confederation's Web site:
A concrete example
Richard Hill
5 June 2003
Workshop on challenges, perspectives
and standardization issues in EGovernment
Telecommunication Standardization Bureau
International Telecommunication Union
1
TSB
The law changes 1/2
In January 2003, my favorite English-language
video club sent a letter announcing that they had to
close, because they could no longer import videos
from the US or the UK.
They said the Swiss copyright law had changed.
So I looked at the Swiss Federal Government’s site
to see what had changed and when:
http://www.admin.ch/ch/index.fr.html
2
TSB
The law changes 2/2
Sure enough, there had been a change in 2002:
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/2/a231_1.html
The change was to Article 12.
I went and looked at Article 12 to find the source of
the change:
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/231_1/a12.html
3
TSB
The LCin 1/3
The change came from the Law on Cinemas LCIN:
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/c443_1.html
So I went and looked at the legislative history for
that law:
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/gg/cr/2000/20001389.html
4
TSB
The LCin 2/3
First I looked at what the government had asked for:
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/ff/2000/5019.pdf
But that said nothing about the copyright law. So I
went and looked at the parliamentary debates:
http://www.parlament.ch/afs/data/f/gesch/2000/f_ges
ch_20000078.htm
5
TSB
The LCin 3/3
It required a bit of reading to find the bit that
interested me:
http://www.parlament.ch/ab/frameset/f/index.htm
But I found it, see page 536 at:
http://www.parlament.ch/ab/frameset/d/s/4609/35664/
d_s_4609_35664_35668.htm?DisplayTextOid=35669
6
TSB
Taking action 1/2
The change came a committee. So I looked at the
people who were on the committee:
http://www.parlament.ch/f/print/kom_5_18.htm
Having read the parliamentary debates, I felt that the
modification of the copyright law didn’t really
correspond to the goals of the Law on Cinemas and
that some of the parliamentarians hadn’t understood
what they had approved.
7
TSB
Taking action 2/2
So I looked up one of the members of parliament.
By using the list at:
http://www.parlament.ch/f/homepage/ra-raete/ra-nrnationalrat/ra-nr-mitglieder.htm
I looked up:
http://www.parlament.ch/afs/data/d/person/d_person
_498.htm
8
TSB
More research 1/6
I wrote him an E-Mail and he said he’d be willing to
move to have the law changed, if I wrote up the
motion for him.
So I did some more research.
I looked at the laws on parliamentary procedures for
motions:
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/17.html#171
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/171_11/a22.html
9
TSB
More research 2/6
Then I looked at possibly relevant international
treaties:
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/0.63.html#0.632.2
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/0_632_20/app52.html
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/c0_231_15.html
10
More research 3/6
TSB
And the government departments that were involved:
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/autorita.html#2
http://www.kultur-schweiz.admin.ch/index_f.html
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/autorita.html#3
http://www.ige.ch/
I spoke to people in those departments and they gave
me additional information.
11
More research 4/6
TSB
On the site of the Swiss Intellectual Property Office,
I found something interesting: a consultation paper
regarding possible changes to the copyright law in
light of recent international treaties:
http://www.ige.ch/F/jurinfo/j103.htm
http://www.ige.ch/F/jurinfo/pdf/ap_lda.pdf
http://www.ige.ch/D/jurinfo/pdf/erlaeuterungen_urg.pdf
12
More research 5/6
TSB
The consultation paper had a reference to a key
Swiss Supreme Court decision: ATF 124 III 321.
Recent decisions are available online:
http://www.bger.ch/fr/index/jurisdiction/jurisdiction-inherittemplate/jurisdiction-recht.htm
http://clir.bger.ch/index/index.html
The one I was interested in is:
http://clir.bger.ch/cgibin//MapProcessorCGI?mapfile=navigate/ConvertDocFrameCGI.map&ds=n
avigate&d=doc_de_1998_BGE_124_III_321&lang=de&doctype=doc&mapt
ype=doc&pa=1&bck=
13
More research 6/6
TSB
I also searched for decisions related to certain
articles of the Constitution:
http://clir.bger.ch/register/registerg/0_1.dir/0_0.dir/0.
html
I found two of interest.
I also spoke to the owners of my video club and got
information and documents from them.
14
Drafting the motion
TSB
Then I looked for examples of parliamentary
motions:
http://www.parlament.ch/afs/forms/f/f_urh_form1.ht
m
I drafted a text, sent to the member of parliament
with whom I’d been in touch, and he submitted it:
http://www.parlament.ch/afs/data/f/gesch/2003/f%5F
gesch%5F20033061.htm
15
The outcome
TSB
The outcome isn’t known yet. Many others have
complained about this matter and there is
considerable support in parliament to modify the
copyright law, so as to eliminate the provisions that
are bothering the video clubs.
The matter was discussed on 4 June, in the context of
changes to the Loi sur le Cartels, 01.071:
http://www.parlament.ch/Poly/Programme/Sessionsprogramm_NR.pdf
And on 10 June:
http://www.parlament.ch/Poly/Programme/Sessionsprogramm_SR.pdf
16