Delimitation of the Human Right to Privacy, Based on the Breach of Alterum Non Laedere

Abstract

The main purpose of this work was to delimit the sphere of the human right to privacy, when the duty know as ‘alterum non laedere’ is breached, generating a harm as a result of the invasion to that sphere. To achieve this aim, a comparative law methodology focused on US jurisprudence was used because it extensively develops the issue of privacy torts. The analysis made it possible to apply the principles of common law in the field of private life in Ecuadorian law, by examining the Organic Law on Protection of Personal Data, which protects personal information, one of the key dimensions of the right to privacy. Despite having this Law, the lack of a normative development in Ecuador that defines the criteria to file a claim for damages when the illicit act of the invasion of privacy is produced, has a great impact on the justiciability of this right.