Right to correction (media law)
The right to rectification under media law aims to eliminate the ongoing consequences of an illegal factual assertion or the publication of a portrait.
If an untrue fact was published in a medium (e.g. press , radio ), the person concerned can request that the allegation be corrected. In contrast to the right to reply , the medium itself has to make a correction, whereas in the case of a reply, only a statement from the person concerned has to be published.
Such a claim presupposes a false assertion of fact . Furthermore, a permanent impairment of the personal rights of the person concerned must be shown. An impairment can also exist as a result of a picture publication.
The editorial staff of the medium is then obliged to make a correction to its own declaration, which is suitable to remove the impairment of the rights of the person concerned. This will primarily take the form of a revocation of the entire assertion, a correction of the incorrect part of the assertion or a distancing from the disseminated content. The correction has to be made in a comparable place to the false report (same category, broadcast, positioning) in order to address the same group of recipients.
In individual cases, the claim can also be directed to a new report; if z. If, for example, a detailed report has been made about a criminal trial and allegations in this context, it can be requested that an acquittal that occurred later be reported.
Legal basis
The right to rectification under media law is based on judicial training and is based on the analogous application of Section 823 (1) (liability for damages), Section 1004 (1) sentence 2 (right to removal and injunctive relief) i. V. m. § 249 para. 1 (type and scope of compensation) BGB justified. Depending on the circumstances, § 824 (jeopardy to credit) and § 826 (immoral deliberate damage) BGB may also be relevant. In case of doubt, the claimant has to prove in court that the alleged fact is untrue and that the allegation is a permanent impairment which can be removed by the requested correction.
The violation of the law through a false factual assertion can last for years and usually does not resolve itself. The violation of the law will not be remedied by a reply or an obligation to cease and desist; the right to correction can therefore, as well as claims for damages, be asserted in addition to the other claims.
