Analytical Study Of Indian Judiciary’s Stand On Jurisdictional Issues Regarding E-Commerce Disputes

Analytical Study Of The Indian Judiciary’s Stand On Jurisdictional Issues Regarding E-Commerce Disputes

Shreenivas Patil, LLM student, School of Law, Christ University, Bengaluru

ABSTRACT

E-commerce (Electronic commerce) is the system of buying and selling goods and services or transmitting funds or data by means of an electronic network, primarily the internet. The UNCITRAL by the means of ‘Model Law on Electronic Commerce’, sought to provide scope for e-commerce and set of internationally acceptable rules with an aim to remove legal obstacles and increase legal predictability. The traditional method of business environment is now evolved to electronic mode bringing with it some merits and demerits. The upgradation of technology has helped the users to reach every purchase or payment within just a click or touch on the phone – from payment of bills, online shopping, conduct business, sell old item. The primary core legal issue when an E-commerce is referred to a dispute, is the question of jurisdiction of a court. The jurisdiction maybe a territorial jurisdiction or subject matter jurisdiction. This has resulted in Law of Contracts to develop with the same pace as that of technology and E-contracts to cover under its ambit the transactions and enforceability. This paper discusses about the jurisdictional barriers faced while a E-commerce dispute is initiated. The second part of the research paper addresses approach to encounter the issues arising.

Keywords: E-commerce, Jurisdiction, Enforceability, Contracts, Technology.