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³ The freedom of speech is recognised in Art. 10 of the ECHR, Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms art. 10, Nov. 4, 1950, 213 U.N.T.S. 221 [hereinafter ECHR] (also known as “European Convention on Human Rights”), and art. 11 of the EU Charter, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union art. 11, 18 Dec. 2000, 2000 O.J. (C 364) 1, 11 [hereinafter EU Charter]. The right to private life is protected by art. 8 ECHR and art. 7 EU Charter.Google Scholar

⁴ Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations (“Rome II”), COM (2003) 427 final (July 22, 2003) [hereinafter Rome II Proposal].Google Scholar

⁵ On the online symposium Rome II and Defamation, both Hartley and Dickinson have expressed a preference to maintain the status quo. Martin George, Rome II and Defamation: Online Symposium, ConflictofLaws.net (19 July 2010), http://conflictoflaws.net/2010/rome-ii-and-defamation-online-symposium. See Dickinson, Andrew, Privacy and Personality Rights in the Rome II Regime—Not Again?, ConflictofLaws.net (19 July 2010), http://conflictoflaws.net/2010/privacy-and-personality-rights-in-the-rome-ii-regime-not-again; Hartley, Trevor, Hartley on the Problem of “Libel Tourism,” ConflictofLaws.net (19 July 2010), http://conflictoflaws.net/2010/hartley-on-the-problem-of-libel-tourism.Google Scholar

⁶ Council Regulation 44/2001, arts. 2 & 5(3), 2001 O.J. (L 012) 1, 3–4 [hereinafter Brussels I regulation].Google Scholar

⁷ Case 21/76, Handelswekerij G.J. Bier BV v. Mines de Potasse d'Alsace SA, 1976 E.C.R. 1735 [hereinafter Mines de Potasse case].Google Scholar

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⁹ Case C-68/93, Shevill v. Presse Alliance SA, 1995 E.C.R. I-415 [hereinafter Shevill case].Google Scholar

¹⁰ Joined Cases C-509/09, eDate Adver. GmbH v. X & C-161/10, Martinez v. Société MGN Ltd. (29 Mar. 2011), http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62009C0509:EN:NOT [hereinafter eDate & Martinez cases].Google Scholar

¹¹ Id. Google Scholar

¹² Hartley identifies the high amount of damages to be a significant factor explaining the attractiveness of the United Kingdom as place for defamation proceedings. Hartley, supra note 2.Google Scholar

¹³ Martinez case ¶¶ 33–67.Google Scholar

¹⁴ Tribunal de grand instance [TGI] [ordinary court of original jurisdiction] Paris, 3 Mar. 2011, Case No. 0718523043 (Fr.).Google Scholar

¹⁵ Paulsson v. Cooper (2011), 105 O.R. 3d 28 (Can. Ont. C.A.) [hereinafter Paulsson case].Google Scholar

¹⁶ The court first observed that the applicant had recognized that she merely brought criminal proceedings in France because that would be less costly for her and because the French court was most likely to find in her favor. The court found that since the plaintiff was a French/Israeli citizen who had studied law in France, she should have known that on the merits her action would not stand a chance of success. Tribunal de grand instance [TGI] [ordinary court of original jurisdiction] Paris, 3 Mar. 2011, Case No. 0718523043 (Fr.).Google Scholar

¹⁷ The total circulation of the review in question (Slavic Review) was 3528. Paulsson case ¶ 12.Google Scholar

¹⁸ Paulsson case ¶¶ 25–45.Google Scholar

¹⁹ Working Document of the European Parliament on the Amendment of Regulation (EC) No. 864/2007 on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations (Rome II)—Work in Progress (23 May 2011), available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/juri/dv/836/836983/836983_en.pdf (last visited 15 Aug. 2011).Google Scholar

²⁰ Commission Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council On Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Recast), COM (2010) 748 final (14 Dec. 2010) [hereinafter Commission Proposal].Google Scholar

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²³ Brussels I regulation, supra note 6, at art. 36.Google Scholar

²⁴ Article 46 would create an extraordinary remedy in the Member State of enforcement which would enable the defendant to contest any procedural defects in the proceedings before the court of origin which may have infringed the defendants’ right to a fair trial. Id. at art. 46.Google Scholar

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²⁶ Balin, Robert, Laura Handman & Erin Reid, Libel Tourism and the Duke's Manservant—An American Perspective, 2009 Eur. Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 303; Garnett, Richard & Richardson, Megan, Libel Tourism or Just Redress? Reconciling the (English) Right to Reputation with the (American) Right to Free Speech in Cross-Border Libel Cases, 5 J. Private Int'l L. 471 (2009); Warshaw, Aaron, Uncertainty from Abroad: Rome II and the Choice of Law for Defamation Claims, 32 Brook. J. Int'l L. 269 (2006).Google Scholar

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²⁸ A detailed comparative account is given by Collins, supra note 1. See also Lawrence McNamara, Reputation and Defamation (2007).Google Scholar

²⁹ Garnett, & Richardson, , supra note 26, at 481.Google Scholar

³⁰ Brussels I regulation, supra note 6, at art. 4.Google Scholar

³¹ Case C-281/02, Owusu v. Jackson, 2005 E.C.R. I-1383. See Jonathan Harris, Understanding the English Response to the Europeanization of Private International Law, 4 J. Private Int'l L. 347 (2008); Hartley, Trevor, The European Union and the Systematic Dismantling of the Common Law of Conflict of Laws, 54 Int'l & Comp. L.Q. 813 (2005).Google Scholar

³² See, e.g., Diana Wallis, Report on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations (“Rome II”) 39 (27 June 2005) [hereinafter Wallis Report], http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+REPORT+A6-2005-0211+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN (“In contrast to previous instruments where the Community has taken over an existing international convention on private law, in this instance there was no previous convention, which provides a unique opportunity to legislate in a specifically Community context.”).Google Scholar

³³ Council Regulation 864/2007, On the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations (“Rome II”), 2007 O.J. (L 199) art. 3 [hereinafter Rome II regulation].Google Scholar

³⁴ For example, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that the protection of private life should prevail over the freedom of expression if the published photos and articles did not contribute to a debate of general interest. Von Hannover v. Germany, App. No. 59320/00, 40 Eur. H.R. Rep. 1 (2005).Google Scholar

³⁵ Lord Hoffmann, Fifth Dame Anne Ebsworth Memorial Lecture: The Libel Tourism Myth (6 Feb. 2010), http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2010/02/the-libel-tourism-myth.Google Scholar

³⁶ Bachchan v. India Abroad Publ'ns, Inc., 585 N.Y.S.2d 661, 665 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1992).Google Scholar

³⁷ 155 Cong. Rec. S2323–01, S2342–43 (daily ed. 13 Feb. 2009) (statement of Sen. Specter).Google Scholar

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³⁹ Garnett, & Richardson, , supra note 26, at 480.Google Scholar

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⁴¹ International diplomacy could have played a role here. See Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, Press Standard Privacy and Libel, 2009-0, H.C. 362-I, at 54. The report called upon the U.K. government to seek to discuss the situation with its U.S. counterparts in Washington.Google Scholar

⁴² Consultation on a Preliminary Draft Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations, art. 7 (3 May 2002), available at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/news/consulting_public/rome_ii/news_hearing_rome2_en.htm (last visited 15 Aug. 2011).Google Scholar

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⁴⁶ Wagner, supra note 43.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ See generally Andrew Dickinson, The Rome II Regulation: The Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations 234–38 (2008); Kunke, Christopher, Rome II and Defamation: Will the Tail Wag the Dog?, 19 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 1733 (2005); Wagner, Gerhard, Article 6 of the Commission Proposal: Violation of Privacy—Defamation by Mass Media, 13 Eur. Rev. Private L. 21 (2005); Eechoud, Mireille van, The Position of Broadcasters and Other Media Under the Proposed EC ‘Rome II’ Regulation on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations, 2006 IRIS Plus, no. 2006-10, available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=973774 (last visited 15 Aug. 2011).Google Scholar

⁴⁸ Rome II regulation art. 30(2).Google Scholar

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⁵⁰ For an account of the discussion, see Michael Hellner, The Country of Origin Principle in the E-Commerce Directive: A Conflict with Conflict of Laws?, in Les Conflits de Lois et le Système Juridique Communautaire 205 (Angelika Fuchs et al. eds., 2004).Google Scholar

⁵¹ Directive 2000/31/EC, of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on Certain Legal Aspects of Information Society Services, in Particular Electronic Commerce, in the Internal Market (“Directive on Electronic Commerce”), 2000 O.J. (L 178) 1, art. 1(4) [hereinafter E-Commerce Directive].Google Scholar

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⁵⁴ A.G. Cruz Villlalón argues in his opinion in Martinez & eDate that the E-Commerce Directive does not lay down a conflict of laws rule. Id. at ¶¶ 68–81.Google Scholar

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⁵⁶ Dickinson, supra note 47, at 645.Google Scholar

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⁵⁹ E-Commerce Directive recital 23.Google Scholar

⁶⁰ The Mainstrat Study also concludes that Art. 4 constitutes a connecting factor but presupposes that “national law applicable” refers to both public and private law, without explaining it.Google Scholar

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⁷¹ Code Private International Law art. 99.2.1 (Belg.).Google Scholar

⁷² Code Private International Law art. 108.3 (Bulg.).Google Scholar

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⁷⁷ George, supra note 5. See Olivera Boskovic, Boskovic on Rome II and Defamation, Conflictoflaws.net (20 July 2010), http://conflictoflaws.net/2010/boskovic-on-rome-ii-and-defamation. Boskovic proposes to simply delete the defamation exception and make defamation subject to the general conflict of laws rules.Google Scholar

⁷⁸ Under Article 2 Brussels I a defendant can be sued in the courts of the place where he is domiciled. Brussels I report art. 2.Google Scholar

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⁸⁰ In the same sense: Hartley, supra note 2, at 35; Hinden, Michael von, Ein europäisches Kollisionsrecht für die Medien, in Die richtige Ordnung: Festschrift für Jan Kropholler zum 70. Geburtstag .573 (Dietmar Baetge, Jan von Hein & Michael von Hinden eds., 2008). Von Hinden proposes a center of gravity test (Schwerpunktbildung) but falls for its determination back upon the place of habitual residence of the victim, provided that distribution occurred in that place.Google Scholar

⁸¹ In the same sense: Thomas Thiede, Sachgerechte Haftung der Massenmedien bei grenzüberschreitender Berichterstattung, in Medienpolitiek und Recht 149 (H. Koziol et al. eds., 2010). Thiede proposes a flexible system based upon the closest connection when a publication occurs in several countries. The forseeability of the application of that law to the author and of the objectively most closely related legal system is relevant. The latter depends upon the perception of affront by an average observer and the social connections of the person affected.Google Scholar

⁸² The same is proposed by Kunke, supra note 47. Kunke proposes to introduce elements of the governmental interest analysis in Rome II while taking the place where the most significant elements of the damage occurred as ground rule.Google Scholar

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⁸⁵ Council Convention 80/934/EEC, On the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations, 1980 O.J. (L 266) 1, 2, art. 4(2). This paragraph has been slightly oversimplified. A presumption was also established by Articles 4(3), relating to contracts for the right in an immovable property, and 4(4), relating to contracts of carriage.Google Scholar

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⁸⁹ See generally eDate & Martinez cases.Google Scholar

⁹⁰ The introduction of a specific public policy clause dealing with defamation would however be superfluous. Article 26 Rome II already provides that the application of a provision of the governing law may be refused if such application would be manifestly incompatible with the public policy of the forum.Google Scholar

The authors are organizers of the UCD School of Law's Fifth Annual Postgraduate Conference on Human Rights, and would like to thank the German Law Journal, and in particular its student editorial board for the excellent work in preparing this symposium publication; the staff of UCD School of Law, particularly Dr. Fiona de Londras, Professor John Jackson, Professor Imelda Maher, John Biggins and Suzanne Egan; the PhD candidates at UCD School of Law, particularly Joanne O'Toole Byrne, Aoife Foley, Anatole Abaquesne, Donal Casey, Chuanman You and Rumyana Grozdanova; Michael O'Boyle, Justice John Hedigan, Sean O'Toghda, Carl Grainger, Colin Smith, members of the Board of the Irish Society of International Law, and of course, all the participants, chairs and discussants that invaluably contributed to the event.Google Scholar