Reshma Ranganadhan, School of Law, Christ University
ABSTRACT:
The World Health Organisation defines E-Commerce as using electronic means for the production, distribution, marketing, and sale of goods or services. The main Characteristics of E-commerce is that it is global, borderless, virtual, anonymous, and beneficial to every seller, as there is no need for the firm to be physically present in a region where they sell goods or services. It is the key to prosperity and international relations, and thus very important. However, the new forms of selling and buying goods or services is a development made in recent years and might not fit in well with the existing Indian laws. Many a time, a dispute can arise out of an E- commerce transaction. In such situations, it becomes necessary for a court to assume jurisdiction of that particular dispute. This issue of jurisdiction can be a highly complex issue. Cross-border transactions make it difficult to determine which court or legal institution has jurisdiction to try and solve a particular dispute. This research paper shall discuss the jurisdictional challenges brought by the development of e-commerce, especially where disputes arise between businesses and individuals in cross-border transactions. The fact that it is a cross-border transaction is the very feature that causes confusion in the jurisdiction. Therefore, it is tough to decide or know which court should assume jurisdiction. Due to this, the business enterprise is caught up in a dispute for a long time, thus hindering its sound functioning and sales. It is necessary to identify these issues and solve them in time so that every country’s GDP can prosper. The existing substantial and procedural laws regarding the jurisdiction of a cross-border dispute can be challenging to understand. This paper aims to simplify the same so that it can be interpreted simply. This paper shall also discuss the solutions to such jurisdictional problems with reference to decided cases.
Keywords: E-Commerce, cross-border electronic transaction, jurisdiction, dispute
