Is it true that despite the Technology Development,
Electronic Commerce is still Legally a Grey Area?
Usage of modern means of communication such as electronic mail and electronic data interchange for the purpose of international trade transactions have been increasing rapidly. With the development of information technology and growing Internet accessibility worldwide, international trade is soon expected to change its traditional way of doing business. However, this development may be hindered by the lack of a globally accepted means of using the Internet to create a contract and make payment. Businesses may run into legal difficulty because they are completely unaware of some of the legal issues that are associated by its nature with E-Commerce such as prescribing the use of “written”,
“signed” and “original” documents.
Legal scrutiny around the formation of electronic contracts affects consumers and businesses engaging in international trade. While most consumers enjoy the security of domestic consumer protection laws to shield them from incorrect, incomplete, or fraudulent computer-based transactions, commercial entities have different legal resources embracing their transactions. Recourse remedies differ based upon the international jurisdictions of the transacting parties. These complications lead commercial entities to question which laws govern international sales transactions. Where does the line between informal communication of an offer and formal acceptance begin? On which party's laws would a legal judgment hinge? Could everyday commercial activities create a binding contract? Are digital documents and signatures legally valid? Are they original, reliable, secure, protected and evidential or not?. Al...
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...and the controversy of
Multiple Jurisdiction”, (2001), International Trade Law & Regulation, 7.
Wang Minyan, “Do the regulations on electronic signature facilitate
international electronic commerce? A critical review”, (2008),Computer Law &
Security Report, 23.
Websites
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) :
www.uncitral.org
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce:
http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/electronic_commerce.html
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the Use of Electronic
Communications in International Contracts:
http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/electronic_commerce/2005Convent
ion.html
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures with Guide to Enactment:
http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/electronic_commerce/2001Model_s
ignatures.html
As domestic economies globalize, the line has blurred from where an item is built, where it is sold and where it is serviced. It provides opportunities for individuals in many communities to expand their knowledge and learn about other cultures. Outsourcing has flourished in China and it has enabled its citizens to hone their skills by broadening their education to learn new trades and has created new wealth in a rather lifeless economy. The internet and email has been the main force, for it provides people from all over the world the ability to communicate and learn about each other. The Internet is expanding people’s minds; it facilitates media reform, and to a certain degree may provide legal reform.
Australia, commercially would be at an advantage if contract law was codified. The common law system which contracts calls home, can only take on so many avenues and limits itself when stretched to cover new areas. There needs to be a national set of laws governing contracts on the commercial front and in general areas to overcome discrepancies across borders. However there still remains inconsistency with consumers, minors and business trade through contracts made online. The digital economy is not only one of the fastest growing areas but is forever changing and is definitely a prospect that needs to be covered. Effective legal safeguards against undue exploitation and advantage-taking in such online dealings would see Australian contract law remain in the global arena. The Australian public need greater stability and certainty from contract law, and codification is a step towards fulfilling that void by allowing citizens to be well equipped and educated on their rights and decisions.
Over the past decade the world has gotten much smaller due to the electronic communication the Internet has fostered. While this promotes business and international relations, problems arise regarding the protection of individuals’ personal information. Many countries around the world have developed privacy policies and laws protect an individual's information in the realm of electronic communication. Universal enforcement gets complicated because the Internet is not restricted to one country; it’s worldwide. As a result, concerns arise regarding the compatibility of various countries' privacy policies. This paper will discuss the current legislation in place for various major countries1, the existing conflicts between these countries’ policies and the implications these conflicts hold for the protection of privacy on the Internet.
Mallor, J. P., Barnes, A., Bowers, T., & Langvardt, A. W. (2010). Business Law: The Ethical, Global, and E-Commerce Environment (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Chesseman, Henry R. Legal Environment of Business: Online Commerce, Business Ethics, and Global Issues. 8th ed. N.p.: Pearson Education, Inc. , 2016. Print.
The digital era arrives. Blue Book information editorial board and Social Science Literature Publishing House (2010) pointed out that “China's e-commerce transaction volume reached 3.85 trillion yuan in 2009”. Utilisation of e-business services was also high amongst Hong Kong people. About 98.3% of all persons had used e-business services such as Octopus Card and Automatic Teller Machine (Census and Statistics Department, 2009). One of the pitfalls for the development of e-business, however, is the concerns on consumer privacy. According to Green’s (1999) survey, 54% of respondents had decided not to purchase a product because of a concern on overuse of personal information collected in the e-business transaction. This essay examines the circumstance on protection of consumer privacy in e-business. As e-business is surging by astronomical number and consumer information is a kind of property, the protection of consumer privacy in e-business becomes significant. This essay begins with the causes of the problem, and then move on to analyse the effects. Lastly, the essay concludes with the solutions to the problem.
The Internet and international business is an interesting topic- discussing an area of business that will probably be around for many years and possibly centuries to come. Since its earliest days, the Internet has been a means of communication, an essential tool in almost instant communication.
Cheeseman, H., (2013). Business law: legal environment, online commerce, business ethics, and international issues. (8th ed.), (pp. 168-205). New Jersey: Pearson Education.
E-commerce, a system by which people can buy, sell and deal without even seeing the person on the other side, has taken a front seat in improving the economy of countries around the world. Technology today has made it possible for monetary institutions to help locate the customers resources and help solve their problems at any given time through online banking.... ... middle of paper ... ...
One of the fundamental factors that has affected the process of economic globalization is the improvements in the technology of transportation and communications. This has reduced the costs of transporting goods, services, and factors of production and of communicating economically useful knowledge and technology. There is no doubt that advances in information and communications technology are the most important technological advances of the past quarter century (Mussa, 2000). By far, the most important and business altering advancement is the internet. There is evidence everywhere that the internet has greatly affected international trade. The internet has opened up the world, and brought it right into everyone's home and business. In addition, technology and the internet have greatly reduced the costs of doing business. Even the smallest operation can now go global via the internet at almost no cost. However, there are still some problems that face these e-commerce activities. These problems are shot-term challenges and can be met. The key issues center around two areas:
From PayPal to Debit cards, from EFT to Credit cards, this modern world has been inundated with new ways of making business transactions. Instead of the conventional use of dollars and nickels, now there are electronic payment systems. These types of systems allow for better trust and acceptance between consumer and businesses. In the traditional way of buying a product, one would see a product in person, and pay for it with cash or credit. In e-commerce, the business uploads images of its products online and it enables its customers to shop it using any type of electronic payment system.
When a society acquire a technology, the society measures then weighs the benefits it could gain from the technology with the cost from possible misuse of the technology. As such, as useful as internet is, it could bring much harm when used for exploitation. In that regard, the problems of internet exploitation or cybercrime are causing significant damage especially in the international world. Within a nation, the government as an executive branch enforces the laws created by the judicial branch. However in the global society where there is no government or a recognized body of power that can enforce such international laws, the nations must rely on each other’s honesty and selflessness for the laws to be upheld. Nevertheless the political interests of each country often interfere with international law and portray the spirit of the law obscure.
Five years after graduation I plan to obtain a master's degree in law enforcement. Right now I'am really not sure what I really want to truly do for the rest of my life. The only thing I like doing is finding clues and figuring out the criminal in mystery books.
E-commerce or electronic commerce is carrying out business communications and transactions through computers and over networks. It involves buying and selling of goods and services through digital communication. E-commerce also includes transactions on the World Wide Web and the Internet and means such as electronic funds transfer, smart cards and digital cash. E-commerce covers outward facing processes that interact with customers, suppliers and external partners such as sales, marketing, delivery, customer service, purchasing of raw materials and supplies for production.
Stead, B. A., & Gilbert, J. (2001). Ethical issues in electronic commerce. Journal of Business Ethics, 34, 75-85.