The Law Applicable to Privacy and Personality Rights Violations: Potential for Harmonisation Under the Revised Rome II Regulation

This timely book explores how private international law in Europe addresses violations of privacy and personality rights. Through critical comparative analysis, authors demonstrate how various legal systems determine the applicable law in cases where privacy and personality rights are affected in cross-border torts.

Synthesising national reports from a range of European states (both EU and selected non-EU), contributors assess conflict rules, choice-of-law, mandatory rules, public policy exceptions and the interaction with EU and international law instruments across 23 legal orders. Chapters explore the challenges posed by digitalisation and the dissemination of harmful content online, as well as exclusion from the Rome II Regulation of non‑contractual obligations arising from violations of privacy and personality rights, including defamation. By systematically analysing national conflict-of-laws rules, the book identifies potential pathways towards European harmonisation in this rapidly evolving and highly sensitive area of law.

The Law Applicable to Privacy and Personality Rights Violations is a valuable toolkit for students and scholars of private international law and tort law. The book’s exploration of national approaches will also benefit policymakers, EU institutions and national legislators involved in privacy and personality rights regulation, as well as judges dealing with cross-border disputes involving defamation, privacy violations and online content.