Cybercrimes and private international law.

Summary The notion of cybercrime is analyzed, within the framework of the thesis, from the angle of civil liability. The scope of the study is thus limited to three types of torts: infringements of personality rights, infringements of intellectual property rights and unfair competition. These torts committed via the Internet pose numerous difficulties for the rules of private international law, justifying the proposal of a new way of apprehending them, both in terms of jurisdictional competence and applicable law. The proposals are of two kinds. The first, based on the difficulties of locating the crime, suggests a new method of location adapted to cybercrimes. Indeed, the methods of positive law, the method of objective localization of the crime as well as the method of focusing, are inadequate. It is thus proposed a fictitious method of localization of cybercrimes. The second, based on the delicate position of the victims of cybercrimes who initiate an action in order to obtain reparation or the cessation of the illicit activity, suggests a protection of the latter. The relevance of protecting victims is based on the identification of a structural asymmetry with respect to both the technical providers of the Internet and the perpetrators of the illicit acts themselves. Protective rules for victims of cybercrime are therefore necessary in order to restore a fair balance between the parties.