| CODE | ECL4014 | ||||||
| TITLE | E-Commerce Law in the EU | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | European and Comparative Law | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The speed of technological innovation means that even as laws and regulatory practices are formulated, they are already under pressure from the next wave of development: thus solutions promulgated for internet based eCommerce are already criticised as unsuitable for the requirements of the mobile eCommerce arena. The unit explores how legislators, regulators and business decision makers interact in their attempts to develop a coherent and flexible body of law and regulatory practice for an increasingly globalised electronic commerce environment. This will involve consideration of current and potential legal and regulatory strategies that can be used to achieve aims such as protection of consumers, provision of international dispute resolution, development of alternative payment systems, enforcement of national regulatory regimes (e.g. financial services, gambling), and taxation of eCommerce. The focus will be on EU law and comparative aspects will be introduced in places. Readings will include materials drawn from, amongst others, UK and US law journals. In broad terms, the topic of e-Commerce will be approached from the perspective of a start-up e-Commerce business in the consumer (B2C) environment, i.e. the types of issue that such a start-up would need to identify and address will be considered. Some of what one might consider to be the more pragmatic considerations facing a new business will be addressed – for example, Who is going to host the eCommerce business? What should a contract and/or Service Level Agreement (SLA) for an eCommerce site contain? Who will provide the content for the eCommerce site front-end – i.e. the pictures and the text – and will that content be owned by the eCommerce business, or licensed? Other important issues facing a start-up will also be considered – such as what a business might sell, where it might sensibly choose to sell it, and how it might go about selling it. Even for an eCommerce business, there will often be broader legal considerations than simply those issues arising from the digital environment. For example, despite being the epitome of an eCommerce business, Amazon still has to address legal issues relevant to the storing, processing and shipping of physical goods. Few e-commerce businesses have the luxury of being able to handle all their business affairs online. So while the unit will be considering many of the ‘traditional’ eCommerce issues, it will aim to at least note, where appropriate, that, for all the glamour of domain name and Adword disputes, ePayment systems and online arbitration, at the end of the day, an eCommerce operation often still has to address a set of very practical and pragmatic (and often contract-based) issues. Study-unit Aims: The primary aim of the study-unit is to identify and discuss the principal legal issues that emerge from electronic commerce. This is an important area of the law due to the growing importance of e-commerce for both business and consumers. The unit aims to overview the notion of electronic commerce and its technological context while engaging with specific issues in relation to, inter alia, the formation of electronic and web contracts, principles of jurisdiction and applicable law on the Internet, the creation of virtual enterprises, intellectual property rights on the Internet, the role and regulation of Internet intermediaries (Google, ebay etc), the requirement for system and transactional security and the special position of the consumer in on-line transactions. A further aim of the unit is not just to provide knowledge of the relevant legal rules as they currently stand but also to encourage critical appraisal of them. This involves analysing and challenging the assumptions upon which the rules are based, and discussion of alternative regulatory possibilities. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • understand the principal characteristics of commercial Internet-based commerce; • understand the ways in which such commerce poses difficulties for application of traditional legal doctrine; • examine the principal legal issues that emerge from commercial Internet-based transactions; • describe and analyse key EU rules addressing the above issues; • display understanding of the weaknesses and strengths of EU law on point; • critically evaluate ongoing developments in law relating to electronic commerce; • examine areas of doctrinal and political debate surrounding rules and theories; • draw on the analysis and evaluation contained in primary and secondary sources. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • elucidate the principal EU rules governing the main legal issues that emerge from Internet-based commerce; • elucidate the limitations of these rules; • critically evaluate the assumptions upon which the rules are based; • engage in conceptual debates in key areas of e-Commerce law; • interpret legislation and apply legislation and case law (including the ability to use and appreciate cases from other jurisdictions); • identify potential legal issues related to e-Commerce law; • provide advice on the types of issue that a start-up e-Commerce business would need to identify and address; • develop skills that should facilitate the student’s future participation in this important industry and equip the student to address difficulties and opportunities both from an academic and from a practical perspective. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts Rowland, D., Kohl, U. & Charlesworth A. Information Technology Law, (4th ed.) Routledge, 2011, ISBN: 978-0-415-48237-0 Lloyd, I. Information Technology Law (7th ed.), OUP, 2014, ISBN: 978-0-19-870232-0 Murray, A. Information Technology Law (2nd ed.) OUP, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-19-966151-0 Reed, C. & Angel, J. (eds.) Computer Law (7th ed.) Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN: 978-0-19-969646-8 Bainbridge, D. Introduction to Information Technology Law, (6th ed.) Longman, 2007, ISBN: 978-1-40-584666-0 Supplementary readings Davidson A. The Law of Electronic Commerce (2009), Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 052167865X – Australian Law Edwards, L. & Waelde, C. (eds.) Law and the Internet, 2009, ISBN: 1841138150 Edwards, L. (ed.) The New Legal Framework for E-Commerce in Europe, Hart Publishing, 2005, ISBN: 1841134511 Hedley, S. The Law of Electronic Commerce and the Internet in the UK and Ireland, Cavendish Publishing Ltd, 2006, ISBN: 1859419739 Todd, P. E-Commerce Law, Cavendish Publishing Ltd, 2005, ISBN: 1859419429 Wild, C.; MacEwan, N.; Weinstein, S. & Geach, N. Electronic and Mobile Commerce Law, University of Hertfordshire Press, 2011, ISBN: 1907396012 Web Sites There are a wide range of websites relevant to the course. As Information technology law is a rapidly developing area, the law is often challenged to respond to the many advances in technology. It is therefore important to keep abreast of developments. Key websites that assist with this include: European Commission – Digital Agenda Portal http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/ European Commission - Data Protection http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/index_en.htm |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Students taking this study-unit need to have a background in law. | ||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Mireille-Martine Caruana |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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