engleski

Jurisdiction in internet defamation cases and CJEU's policy choices

The Brussels I bis Regulation (1215/2012), sequel to the Brussels I Regulation (44/2000), contains rules on international jurisdiction of the EU Member States’ courts in cross-border cases. Although the EU provision on jurisdiction for non-contractual cases follows the same principle as the respective Croatian national provision, its interpretation goes much beyond its actual wording. There is a growing number of cases related to violation of rights over the Internet, and in particular with the manner in which the jurisdictional provision based on a traditional territorial connection might be adjusted to the online environment. In its rulings, the CJEU regularly applies the purposive interpretation rather than strictly literal one, thus allowing flexibility in reading the existing provisions. In doing so, the CJEU necessarily takes account of the underlying economic and social as well as private interests. The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the operation of the special jurisdictional provision for torts in Internet defamation cases and assess its socio-economic implications over the stakeholders. Application of those provisions poses challenges not only to legal practitioners, but also to media industry and individuals in Croatia.

European law, personality rights, international jurisdiction, Internet, underlying principles, media

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