Conflict of Laws in Civil Liability Claims Caused by Defamation in the Laws of England, European Union and Iran

With the development of communication and media tools, defamation cases have transcended national borders, so the international elements involved in such cases can be very numerous. Therefore, the legal systems should provide choice of law rules for the courts that have an appropriate effect. This research will investigate that what kind of rules are used in the legal systems of England, the European Union and Iran to determine applicable law. Are these rules compliant with the conditions of defamation claims? In the studied legal systems, no special rule has been designed for defamation. In the European Union, due to the exception of defamation from the general rules of conflict of laws, national rules are applied. In Iranian law, only the general rule of lex fori is applicable, but in English law, according to common law, defamation must be held liable by both the lex fori and the lex loci delicti. This research will demonstrate that the rules provided in these legal systems are ineffective and have to conform to defamation lawsuits.