The question of jurisdiction for the purpose of bringing
defamation proceedings is complicated by the online publication of
material. A recent case1 addressed whether Irish courts
have jurisdiction to deal with defamation proceedings if the
alleged online defamation was published by a party not domiciled in
Ireland and if the publication has been accessed by parties outside
of Ireland only.
Background
The case involved an appeal to the High Court from circuit court
proceedings where the applicant sought an order under the
Defamation Act 2009 declaring that certain statements published by
the respondent online allegedly questioned the applicant's
creditworthiness and were false and defamatory to the applicant.
The applicant also sought other orders under the act directing the
respondent to publish a correction of the allegedly defamatory
statements and prohibiting further publications.
