Switzerland: The Federal Court Does Not Accept Legal Action When Neighbors Are Disturbed by Wi-Fi

The Federal Court Does Not Accept Legal Action When Neighbors Are Disturbed by Wi-Fi
by Lucien Fluri, az Solothurner Zeitung 8 January 2018 (Google translation)

The Federal Supreme Court followed the Solothurn
judges, who found that the internet box "violated no
 legal regulations".  © Keystone

There is nothing that courts do not have to deal with: even with the Wi-Fi  [WLAN] radiation from the neighbor's house. If the Federal Court had judged otherwise, then perhaps a flood of lawsuits of unknown magnitude would have started.

In the Olten region, a man does not sleep in his bedroom, but on an emergency bed under the basement stairs. There is a reason for this: the Wi-Fi radiation of his neighbor supposedly does not extend to that place. Otherwise, his house would be getting too many waves from the neighbor's internet box. The man complains of headache, exhaustion and lack of concentration due to the radiation. And so he went to court with his neighbor. The neighbor should, he demanded, limit the "Wi-Fi emissions emanating from his property in such a way that no more "immissions" penetrate into his own property.

No evidence of harm



Recently, the Federal Court dealt with the case.  It did not accept the man's complaint. First, because the plaintiff did not sign a form and so failed measurement by a specialist. Second, the Federal Supreme Court followed the Solothurn High Judges, who stated that the box was "not violating any legal regulations".

"The complainant attempted to objectify the dangers of Wi-Fi radiation by means of warning letters, recommendations from various medical associations, specialist offices and experts. Whether and to what extent Wi-Fi radiation poses human health risks cannot, in the light of the current state of knowledge, be regarded as officially recognized in Switzerland," states the Federal Supreme Court. "In this respect, there is no basis, regardless of proof of specific radiation intensity, to generally require a Wi-Fi ban."

The Solothurn High Court had already ruled that there were "no generally accepted criteria for a diagnosis of electrosensitivity" at present. In addition, "a causal relationship between electromagnetic fields and the health complaints associated with electrosensitivity could not be proven".

Moreover, an immaterial radiation immission could only be an excessive influence "if it were perceived to be excessive by anyone who found himself in the complainant's position".

Original article in German:
https://www.solothurnerzeitung.ch/solothurn/kanton-solothurn/wenn-des-nachbarn-wlan-stoert-bundesgericht-akzeptiert-klage-nicht-132057753