Comparative Study on the Protection of Personality Rights against Mass Media

“Personality rights” are bundle of rights which protect the integrity and inviolability of the physical and moral integrity of persons against some threats. Right to honor, right to privacy, right to one’s image and the right to personal identity are the main rights which protect the moral integrity of persons against invasions of the mass media. Hence, balancing between two sets of interests (freedom of speech and protection of personality) is an important matter in many countries around the world.
Comparative study shows that two different basic approaches to the area of civil protection of personality rights could be ascertained: General Right of Personality and Specific Personality Rights. Each approach has some conveniences and inconveniences. In our country, there is no definite approach with respect to the matter, but general rules of civil liability and specially, Civil Liability Act (1919) could protect some aspects of personality against media.
This article, intends to, firstly, study those approaches, which are used in other countries (supposed as representative of civil law and common law traditions) for civil protection of personality rights against mass media (Part I), then, the legal bases of civil liability (fault, negligence, gross negligence,…) of media (Part II) and finally, remedies for violation of personality rights (Part III).