Challenges of the Knowledge Society (Apr 2011)
JURISDICTION RULES APPLICABLE TO CONTRACTS CONCLUDED BY ELECTRONIC MEANS
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the legislation, doctrinal opinions and relevant case law regarding the rules of jurisdiction applicable to the cases arising from contracts concluded by electronic means (e-contracts).Considering the elements of foreign origin that often affect this type of contracts, and the lack of a global agreement regarding international jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgements, the objectives pursued by the author are:- identification of rules of jurisdiction applicable to the cases arising from e-contracts,- identification of problems that could arise from law’s interpretation,- issuing of the de lege ferenda proposals.At European Union level, according to the provisions of Brussels I Regulation, as a general rule, actions against a person domiciled in a Member State shall be brought to the courts of that State.According to the same Regulation, cases resulting from a contractual relationship may be decided by the courts of the place of performance of the contractual obligation. In lack of specific jurisdictional rules, the above rules apply to B2B e-contracts. In the case of B2C e-contracts, the consumer can bring proceedings either before the courts of the Member State of his domicile or before the courts of the Member State of the defendant’s domicile. The consumer can only be sued in the Member State of his domicile. The rules protecting the consumer apply if the trader ‘directs its activities’ to the Member State in which the consumer is domiciled. If the defendant is not domiciled in a Member State, the international jurisdiction is determined, in each Member State, according to its national rules of international private laws.
