Law Commons^™

Book Review: R.L. Campbell, Legal Issues In Electronic Commerce, Robert J. Currie

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The juncture of “law and technology” from a legal education point of view is an interesting one. Successfully engaging with law and technology requires stu- dents (of all ages and stripes) to absorb at least some of the substance of many discrete areas of law, as well as to assess how technology creates nexuses between them and challenges some of their underlying notions. As electronic commerce increasingly becomes the bread and butter of many law practices, this need comes into sharper relief — one has to grasp a large variety of fundamentals and simultaneously generate some insight as to where …

E-Commerce Legislation And Materials In Canada: Lois Sur Le Commerce Électronique Au Canada Et Documents Connexes By Sunny Handa, Claude Marseille & Martin Sheehan (Markham, Ont.: Lexisnexis Butterworths, 2005), John D. Gregory

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This hefty volume is a useful compendium of the basic source materials for the law of electronic commerce in Canada. It offers the text of all the general-purpose legislation that removes legal barriers to the use of electronic communications, for all jurisdictions in the country. It then takes a dozen related areas of law, from domain names to taxation, from competition law to consumer protection, from security to standards, and offers a quick overview and the key documents applicable to each. In each case the commentary is in English then in French, and where the texts are available in both …

Producers And Consumers In Eu E-Commerce Law, Banu Sit

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Rapid growth of technology in the last decades has given rise to electronic commerce (e-commerce) as a new mode of commerce. This new commerce environment has many characteristics that affect commercial relationships and parties. Of these characteristics, global and borderless commercial activity and the intangible nature of communication can be singled out.

From a legal perspective, e-commerce has developed new modes, of contract formation, performance of contracts for intangible goods, as well as payment. In this new borderless and transient sphere, certain interests of parties involved in commercial activities as buyers or sellers are in need of protection. In particular, …

Review Of Legal Issues In Electronic Commerce, 2nd Edition (Concord, Ontario: Captus Press, 2005), Chidi Oguamanam

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This collection of materials is part of the Canadian Legal Studies Series. According to the publishers, the objective of the Series is to offer ‘‘a wealth of carefully selected, and up-to-date examinations of Canadian legal issues’’. The first of such collections under the same title appeared in 2002. According to Takach, one of the dynamics of computer, and indeed information technology, law is rapid change in technology trends. Thus, after two years, technological developments and corresponding legal responses on the subject of electronic commerce warrant a new edition of materials of this nature.

I Click, You Click, We All Click - But Do We Have A Contract? A Case Comment On Aspenceri.Com V. Paysystems, Charles Morgan

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

It is trite to say that e-commerce has exploded over the last several years. Canadian individuals and businesses are entering into thousands and thousands of contracts online all the time. Yet, oddly enough, there is surprisingly little legal certainty or consistency regarding an essential legal question: what approach to online contract formation will create a binding legal contract? Such legal uncertainty is unfortunate, since buyers need to know when to ‘‘beware’’, merchants need to be able to manage risk, and courts need to have clear guidelines in order to be able to render informed, coherent decisions.

The issue of online …

"Tpms": A Perfect Storm For Consumers: Replies To Professor Geist, Barry Sookman

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article has its origins in an article written by Professor Michael Geist and published in the Toronto Star entitled ‘‘‘TPMs’: A perfect storm for consumers’’. Following the publication of the article, John Gregory made a posting to the e-commerce listserv he moderates asking if anyone had any comments to the article. I responded on February 13, 2005 with a reply to John’s request. Professor Geist replied to my comments on February 17, 2005. On March 9, 2005 I posted a further reply to Professor Geist. The article set out below is based substantially on my two postings to John …

Electronic Commerce - A Practitioner's Guide Edited By Alan M. Gahtan, Martin P.J. Kratz, And J. Fraser Mann (Toronto: Thomson Carwell, 2003), Harmonie Roesch-West

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

At a time when there seems to be no clear consensus on how to regulate electronic commerce comes a much-needed discussion of the many salient factors impacting the matter in Electronic Commerce: A Practitioner’s Guide. The collaborative effort includes works from several authors, compiled by Alan M. Gahtan, Martin P.J. Kratz, and J. Fraser Mann. This guide is an excellent first step in clarifying the issues and summarizing the precedents and relevant statute law to date. Although the target is an audience of law professionals, other e-commerce stakeholders, including business pro- fessionals, will find this collection useful.

Cross Border E-Commerce And The Gst/Hst: Towards International Consensus Or Divergence?, Keith R. Evans

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In February 2001, the OECD issued a draft report on ‘‘Consumption Tax Aspects of Electronic Commerce’’. The purpose of this report was to seek comments on Working Party No. 9’s conclusions and recommendations in respect of the approach to be taken on the application of consumption taxes to e-commerce in light of the Ottawa Taxation Framework Conditions. The 1998 Conditions called for the taxation principles that applied to traditional commerce to be the guide for the taxation of e-commerce, to ensure non-discriminatory tax treatment of electronic commerce transactions. In November 2001, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (‘‘CCRA’’) issued its …

Global Trecs: The Regulation Of International Trade In Cyberspace, J. Steele

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper provides an overview of trade-related aspects of electronic commerce, and examines three approaches for regulating international trade in cyber- space. A model which integrates these approaches is then proposed, emphasizing private standards of self-regula- tion within a broader public framework of minimal background standards. A summary of potential areas of conflict between competing regulatory approaches fol- lows, and the paper concludes that both the WTO and the OECD have important roles to play in the develop- ment of international consensus towards a harmonized framework for the regulation of global TRECs.