Luca Castellani Legal Officer, UNCITRAL Secretariat, Vienna (Austria) and Secretary, UNCITRAL Working Group IV (Electronic Commerce)The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
In the last few decades technological development and the diffusion of information and communication technologies have changed radically society and economyMoreover, the ability to exchange information anywhere and anytime has made the world much smaller.
Novel legal questions have arisen and possible solutions to those questions have been suggestedMany of those solutions are the effort of global efforts and adoption of the resulting uniform legislation helps harmonizing national laws in a field that, due to its own nature, is inherently transnationalThis is the case, for instance, in the case of the law of electronic transactions and electronic signatures, where the texts prepared by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) have been adopted in more than 100 StatesThis is likewise the case of the Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe (theBudapest Convention), which may be used also as a source of inspiration for domestic legislationIn addition, regional trade agreements contain an increasing number of provisions providing detailed guidance on specific aspects of national and international ecommerce lawThe announced plurilateral initiative on ecommerce, to be discussed in the framework of the World TradeOrganisation, may add another layer to uniform commerce law.
China has taken the lead in promoting the use of information and communication technologies for commercial and non-commercial purposes Chinese companies are among the global top players in this business sectorThis is not surprising, as success in this field requires ingenuity, entrepreneurship and skills that are recurrent in Chinese history.With respect to ecommerce laws and regulations, China has sometimes relied on transnational model This happed for the Law on Electronic Signatures, which is based on UNCITRAL text In other cases, it has adopted an original approach aimed at addressing specific Chinese needs and features.
China has now decided to address certain matters that are critical to its harmonious development of ecommerce These matters pertain to ecommerce regulation and facilitation, protection of consumers online, conclusion and performance of contracts as well as dispute settlementSpecific provisions on platforms operator have attracted much interest as they are among the first to be adopted worldwide.
The preparation of the law has been meticulous and inclusive, spanning over few yearsI had the honor to attend the initial and the last meetings of the drafting process as well as other related events On those occasions, I have always learned much fromthe expertise of those involved The author of this book, Professor Xue Hong, has been involved in every step of the drafting process as a leading expert It is indeed fortunate that she wrote this book, which is not only the first work on the International ecommerce Law but a compilation of insights The book is therefore particularly useful to understand the operation of the law and the goals pursued by its drafters.
The ecommerce Law is a workinprogress Suggestions to finetune certain provisions have already been made A debate may be foreseen, enriched by practical experience It will help in better understanding the content of the law and in promoting its use and interpretation.
From the international perspective, the ecommerce Law raises great hopes Articles 71, 72 and 73 of the Law clearly pave the way to greater Chinese involvement in crossborder ecommerce law In particular, those articles may support Chinas adoption of two important treaties, the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts and the Framework Agreement of the Facilitation of CrossBorder Paperless Trade in Asia and the PacificThe first treaty provides core rules to assess the validity of electronic communications, including electronic signatures, exchanged across borders in a businesstobusiness environmentThe second treaty promotes the exchange of traderelated data across borders, thus opening the way to international single windows and other trade facilitation mechanisms involving both private and public sectors.
Chinas adoption of the two treaties will send a strong signal of its engagement in leading not only technological but also legal innovation related to the digital economyThe international community will then not only take into full account Chinese views and needs, but also benefit from its expertise and experience.This will provide an important contribution to building a prosper and harmonious future in a fully connected world.
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