1. E-Commerce as a key facilitator for SME Competitiveness,
Geneva, May 2008
Building a legal framework for
eCommerce
Professor Ian Walden, Of Counsel, Baker & McKenzie & Head of the Institute of
Computer and Communications Law, Queen Mary, University of London

2. Introductory remarks
• Fundamental changes resulting from Internet
– intangible information assets, questions of identity &
location, speed & mobility…..
• Policy
– the promise of electronic commerce
– „digital divide‟ issues
• Law and regulation
– enabler & facilitator or constraints on behaviour

3. Forms of regulation
• Law
– public law (e.g. criminal) and private law (contract)
• Norms
– e.g. „netiquette‟, „flaming‟
• The market
– e.g. cost of access
• Architecture: „code as code‟
– infinitely flexible - possibility of design

4. Regulatory precedents
• Non-discrimination
– e.g. US Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act 2001
• Emerging custom and practice
– from Lex Mercatoria to Lex Informatica?
• Non-territorial treatment
– international laws of space & the sea
• Media censor
– e.g. Singapore, China

5. International aspects
• Questions of applicable law
– “….. the principles of the international legal system cannot impose
obligations on everyone to comply with all law” (David Post,
2004)
• As comparative advantage
– or regulatory arbitrage?
• „Country of origin‟ principle
– mutual recognition

6. Who regulates?
• Law-making bodies
– WTO, EU, WIPO..…
• formal, e.g. GATT, GATS, Copyright Treaty
• informal, e.g. Doha WTO Ministerial Declaration (Nov. 2001)
• Model-making bodies
– UNCITRAL Model Laws and Convention (2005)
– Commonwealth Model Law on Electronic Transactions (2003)
• Standards-making bodies
– e.g. International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF)

7. Regulatory topics
• Legal certainty
– Validity, enforceability & admissibility
• Legal security
– Digital signatures & data protection
• Legal protection
– IPR Rights-holders & consumer protection
• Legal deterrents
– Criminal law

8. The Law Reform Process
• Political commitment
– E.g. ASEAN member states
• Ownership by government ministry
• Technical and legal expertise
• Stakeholder review group
– Public and private sector
• Parliamentary process

9. Concluding Remarks
• Law as an enabler and facilitator
– as a tool of comparative advantage
– at an infrastructure & service/product level
• Advantages of a regional approach
– harmonisation
– multiplier effect
– sharing resource/experience