E-COMMERCE — EUROPEAN UNION: TRANSNATIONAL E-COMMERCE

✍ Scribed by Stuart Dutson

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 111 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0267-3649
• DOI: 10.1016/s0267-3649(00)88305-3

✦ Synopsis

The European Commission has recently promulgated two documents intended to become EC legislation that will impact upon transnational E-commerce: the Proposed EC Regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgements (COM (1999) 348 final) (the Regulation), and the Amended Proposed EC Directive on electronic commerce (COM (1999) 427 final) (the Directive). A number of newspaper and WWW newsgroup articles have recently appeared decrying apparent tensions between the Regulation and Directive and alleging that the Regulation will prevent the Directive's object being realized. Protest has been so vehement that the European Commission invited submissions on the topics and held a two-day consultation in Brussels on these points in November 1999. After the consultation the 'problems' were referred to expert committees within the Commission. This article analyses the inter-relationship between the Regulation and Directive and any potential tensions between them and the effects of the changes introduced by the Regulation on E-commerce.