Rome II in the face of human-rights challenges: the law applicable to SLAPPs and to human-rights-related torts

Abstract

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In recent times, two significant human-rights-related legislative projects have been initiated at the international and European levels: the so-called draft UN "Treaty on Business and Human Rights" and a potential EU (legislative or non-legislative) initiative to “[fight the] abusive use of strategic lawsuits against public participation” (SLAPP). These two projects will entail either the enactment of new rules of private international law or the amendments of existing ones to accommodate their policy goals. The potentially upcoming process of review of the EU´s Rome II Regulation (on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations) opens space for reflection on how the said instrument faces or will have to face human-rights challenges connected to the two above-referred initiatives. This article will : i) put forward a suggestion to introduce a contentoriented choice-of-law rule on SLAPP in the Rome II Regulation; ii) assess options in respect of the potential insertion of a content-oriented choice-of-law rule on human-rights-related torts in the Rome II Regulation