Introduction to E-Commerce Law
Module 1 - Jurisdiction from a Domestic and International Perspective
b. International Jurisdiction
- International Aspects of Online Jurisdiction
- Unification of Online Jurisdiction Rules
- Regulation of Internet Providers
- Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction
NARRATIVE
ASSIGNMENTS
SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS
TREATIES
IBLS ARTICLES
NARRATIVE
As in 1945, International Shoe extended jurisdiction to out-of-forum parties. Long Arm statutes that were adopted by American Jurisprudence are at a tipping point in history when the concept of jurisdiction will take a huge step into international jurisprudence. The Constitutional concept of Full Faith and Credit recognizes sister state judgments. Judgments rendered by courts in foreign countries stand outside of this Constitutional guarantee. The seeds of worldwide jurisdiction have been sewn in treaties that initially were intended to handle the problem of once having received a judgment order against an out-of-country party, how was one to collect on foreign judgments.
The diversity of applicable legislations makes the issue of international jurisdiction a very difficult one. E-businesses are at risk of being hauled into court in a foreign country with which they have little physical or geographical connection. Do you remember what happened in the Yahoo! case? Yahoo, the American corporation, was ordered by a French Court to implement technical or access control measures blocking auctions featuring Nazi memorabilia from French residents. International jurisdiction issues are also getting more attention as governments try to control online content and conduct originating beyond their borders.
From an international perspective, the Hague Conference on Private International Law and the Rome Institute on the Unification of Private Law have been trying for a number of years to put all parties together in order to harmonize the jurisdiction rules on a worldwide basis. As you can imagine, the negotiation of the Draft Hague Convention is a very lengthy process, and generates considerable opposition. And it only deals with jurisdiction, meaning that this Draft Convention does not provide which country's law would apply in any given dispute, but only defines the jurisdiction in which the proceeding takes place.
Concepts like “tag jurisdiction”, “nondomiciliary defendants” and “place of performance” were wrestled with in precursor agreements called the Brussels Convention and the Lugano Convention. These are concepts that the Internet Lawyer must become familiar with, and website owners engaged in cross-border commerce must also be aware of.
ASSIGNMENTS
Essay. For purposes of jurisdiction and regarding an electronic transaction write a short paper on whether a buyer in India goes to a seller in the United States to make a purchase of software, or, does the seller in the United States go to the buyer in India.
SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS
- Electronic Commerce Jurisdiction ILPF rtf/pdf
- Hague Convention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments rtf/pdf
- Jurisdiction Equilibration Hague Convention rtf/pdf
TREATIES
- Brussels Convention.
- Lugano Convention.
- Treaty of Rome.
- Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, The Hague Conference on Private International Law.
- Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“UDRP”).
IBLS ARTICLES
- [1894] - ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: JURISDICTION
- [1893] - ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: CHOICE OF LAWS
- An Introductory Framework For Analyzing The Proposed Hague Convention. International & Comparative Law Spring 2000.
- Electronic Commerce: Jurisdiction and Applicable Law Brussels, Belgium 4-5 November 1999.
- Jurisdiction Equilibration, the Proposed Hague Convention and Progress in National. American Journal of Comparative Law Spring 2001.