Jay Forder practised as a Legal Practitioner in Zimbabwe before holding lecturing positions at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Natal, Durban (in South Africa). He is currently an Associate Professor at Bond University, Australia’s first private and independent university. He introduced Bond University’s first elective course on Information Technology and the Law in 1994, and has continued to teach IT and E-Commerce related courses at Bond since then. He is a co-author of Electronic Commerce and the Law, John Wiley, 2003 and Internet and E-Commerce Law, Oxford University Press, 2008.

Abstract

This paper suggests that Australia’s Electronic Transactions legislation (and UNCITRAL’s 1996 Model Law on Electronic Commerce on which it is based) is unhelpful in trying to decide whether a particular electronic activity is likely to be recognised as a valid signature. It considers whether updating the legislation in light of UNCITRAL’s 2001 Model Law on Electronic Signatures or the 2005 UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts would improve the situation. It concludes that such an update would clarify some difficult issues, but that overall it will not solve the difficulties. The paper ends by briefly speculating on the likely attributes of a more helpful approach.

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Christophe Geuens (°1982) graduated at K.U.Leuven in 2007. During his time as a student he worked on a seminar at ICRI about criminal law and the use of GNSS. After graduating he started working in August 2007 in Logistics for Katoen Natie, on the operational level, in Antwerp (Belgium) and Terneuzen (the Netherlands). He joined ICRI in may 2008.

He is working in the field of Intelligent Transport Systems(ITS) and logistics. The main focus of his work is on privacy and the protection of personal data on the one side and liability on the other. Regarding privacy he has mainly worked on the issues of tracking of people in location-based ITS systems such as electronic road tolling and eCall and video monitoring applications. He has also worked on intellectual property law, transport law and public procurement, all related to ITS and logistics. He works on the IBBT-projects NextGenITS, URBAN and VICATS.

Jos Dumortier graduated in Law at K.U.Leuven (1973). After postgraduate studies in Nancy (Centre Européen Universitaire, 1974) and Heidelberg (DAAD, 1975), he became a research fellow at K.U.Leuven. In 1981 he finished his Ph.D. in Law with a dissertation on Private International Conflicts of Law. From 1981 to 1992 he worked part-time as a lawyer in a large Brussels law office. From 1981 until 1983 he studied Information Science (INFODOC) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Between 1984 and 1992 he was part-time lecturer in Information Science at the University of Antwerp. In 1985 he became a part-time lecturer and in 1993 a full-time Professor in Law and IT at K.U.Leuven. In 1990 he co-founded the Interdisciplinary Centre for Law and Information Technology and was the Centre’s first Director. From 1991 to present he has been active in lecturing, research and consultancy in the area of Law and ICT, and he has published several books and articles on this subject.
Jos Dumortier is the editor of the International Encyclopedia of Cyberlaw (Kluwer International Publishers) and editorial board member of many other specialized publications, and regularly works as an expert for the Belgian federal government, the Flemish government, the European Commission and several national and international organisations on issues relating to Law and ICT. Between June 2004 and June 2006 Jos Dumortier headed the IT law department of the Brussels based firm Lawfort, and on 1 July 2007 he co-founded the IT law firm time.lex, of which he is currently a senior partner.

Abstract

This article examines whether there are any objections to implementing a mandatory eCall system in the Community and how these could be dealt with. It starts with a short introduction to the motives why the European Commission considers a mandatory in-vehicle eCall. The art. 29 Working Party has issued a working document on eCall identifying several issues regarding personal data protection. The issues in this document will serve as a reference to determine whether there are any objections regarding data protection to implementing a mandatory eCall system. Additionally we will look at a possible eCall implementation in the Community.

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After obtaining her law degree at Ghent University (July 2007), Delphine Goens joined the Financial Law Institute as a researcher for the BRITE – project in September 2007. From March 2009, she has been working as a Research Assistant for a project sponsored by the Fund for Scientific Research obtained by Prof. Dr. Michel Tison. Currently, she is preparing a doctoral thesis on data protection in the business world.

Abstract

Business registers (BRs) are a very important information resource for investors, creditors, financial institutions and public authorities. The possibility to aggregate and interconnect these data at a European level could enhance the transparency of companies towards those actors and add a great deal of value to the raw business register data. The European BRITE-project intended to provide adequate tools to meet these demands. BRITE will provide  easier access and cross-border interoperability of Business Register data throughout Europe. On the other hand, the processing of BR data within the BRs and BRITE triggers several important European legislations such as the Data Protection Directive and the Directive on the re-use of public sector information. In this paper, the processing of BR data will be analysed from the perspective of both Data Protection and Public Sector Information laws, analysing as well the relation between both regulations. Do these regulations strike an optimal balance between the interests of private data vendors to re-use BR data and enhance business transparency and the need to protect the personal data of natural persons?

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Michael Haddad (Masters of International Trade and Commerce Law, Macquaire University; LLB, Law, Al-Ahliyya Amman University) is a PHD
student at the  Business Law, Macquarie University.

Abstract

Disputes that arise in international commercial dealings may be expensive and time consuming to resolve. An alternative to litigation has developed over the years to include a number of dispute resolution mechanisms outside of the traditional court state court system. These mechanisms are collectively known as alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. In order to utilize these mechanisms parties to a commercial contract must voluntarily agree to participate in the various methods of ADR available. In order to make this intention clear, an effective ADR clauses needs to be incorporated into the commercial contract. This paper looks at the contents and procedure of drafting an effective clause and concludes that the effectiveness of a clause will depend on the nature of the commercial contract and the adequacy of the ADR method in that particular context.

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René Franz Henschel is an Associate Professor at the School of Business, Aarhus University. He is the Programme Director, Master of Science in Business Administration and Business Law, Aarhus School of Business;Member of the Danish association "Dansk Forum for IT-ret" with participants from government, universities and the industry;Member, editorial Board, The Nordic Journal of Commercial Law;
Senior editor, UNILEX Database on the CISG. Member, Core Group,The Proactive Law Group and The Nordic School for Proactive Law, Finland;Member, the ProActive Think Tank (PATT), under IACCM; and Owner and Managing Director, Henschel Contract Management .

Reinhard Steennot is a Professor  at the Financial Law Institute, Ghent University. Prof. (Dr.) Reinhard Steennot obtained his law degree in 1998 and immediately joined the Financial Law Institute at the Ghent University (Belgium) as a full time researcher, sponsored by the Fund for Scientific Research. Reinhard Steennot wrote a doctoral thesis on the legal aspects of electronic payment systems (2002), entitled: "Elektronisch betalingsverkeer: een toepassing van de klassieke principes" . In October 2003 he became professor at the Ghent University. Since then he teaches several courses, all relating to financial law and consumer law. The research of Reinhard Steennot focuses mainly on issues of private banking law, consumer protection and electronic commerce. He is the author of several books (e.g. Financiële diensten op afstand) and many articles (mainly in Dutch).

Abstract

In December 2007, the European Directive on payment services in the internal market was published in the Official Journal. This Directive, which has to be transposed into national legislation before the 1st November 2009, contains many rules on payments, including rules on the allocation of liability in case of fraudulent use of a payment instrument. The aim of this paper is to briefly discuss the regime concerning fraudulent payment transactions which is incorporated in the new Directive and, further on,  to find out in what way the Directive had or will have an impact on the Danish and Belgian legislation. More specifically, we will examine whether the rules incorporated in the European Directive, which is based on the principle of maximum harmonization, reduce or strengthen the protection of payment service users in Denmark and in Belgium.

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Nina v. Hielmcrone is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Law of Aalborg University, Denmark.

Abstract

In the article I call the success of the mantras of current social policy in question. The mantras are the ones I mention in the headline: Law and order, efficiency and empowerment of social clients.

What threatens the realization of these goals is – among other things but this is what I focus on – the immense growth of ruling that has taken place over the last years. So that we now have is a jungle of laws. What promotes this development is the transformation of law including discretion into firm regulation. The reason why this is done is that it allows administration by means of information technology. Normally you would say this is good when it comes to law and order. But here comes the enormous amount of regulations so that the predictability that we often connect with the principles of law and order vanishes. Tool for this elephantiasis of ruling is information technology and the ongoing process of digitalization of public administration. In the article I argue that due to the temptations of information technology and digitalization, politicians and administrators find no limits for their making new regulations. There are no limits to how many different variables you can tell a computer to work with. The problem is that neither the client nor the social worker have a chance to find out what is happening in the computer. And the law does no longer function as source to knowledge – neither for client nor for social worker. The law is not built to be read. It is built to be translated into computer variables. I argue that this means both loss of law and order, efficiency and possibilities of empowerment of clients. I do not argue against the use of information technology. Using it is both meaningful and wise. But I argue that law should be built not only for computers but also to be understandable for the human mind."

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Anssi Hoikkanen joined European Commission's Joint Research Center in November 2008 as a Research Fellow to work on techno-economic foresight and analysis of electronic identity and personal health systems. He graduated from Helsinki University of Technology in 2001, having specialised in Industrial Economics and Telecommunications. He has also studied social sciences and anthropology at University of Helsinki. Before joining IPTS, he worked for Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks for 8 years in different positions, focusing on techno-economic analysis of new network technologies and services, operator business case assessments, and investment analysis. At JRC, his goal is to leverage his industry expertise for policy support and competitive analysis.

Abstract

This paper discusses the challenges and possible policy options for the regulation of electronic identity (eIdentity). Policy-oriented literature has often focused on technological solutions, and while this interest is warranted, much less has been said on the regulatory challenges and possible solutions arising directly from developments in eIdentity.  In this context, we distinguish five main challenges for policymakers: eIdentity as a new legal category, issues related to identity rights, changing role of governments, developments in the eIdentity industry, and proliferation of identity management systems. We analyse these five challenges as they apply to two use cases, Augmented ID and Pinch Analytics, which highlight some practical problems for consumers that have emerged as a result of new concepts of eIdentity. We conclude by discussing possible policy options such as driving the development of a single regulatory market, supporting the development of common standards, enhancing cross-border legislation, defining a clear incentive framework for companies, and uniformly implementing existing legislation.

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Before appointment as a Senior Lecturer in Electronic Commerce and Programme Director of the Master of Information Management programme at Victoria University of Wellington, Tony was University Librarian and Director of Libraries at the University of Cape Town. His research interests have evolved from the management of academic libraries to legal and ethical issues in Information Management, e-government records management and the motivation of learners entering mid-career management programmes. He is currently promoting collaborative research projects at the University of Cape Town, Loughborough University in the UK, Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and through the Centre for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations (CIRANO) in Montreal.

Abstract

Banks would benefit from demonstrating the highest levels of business integrity in ethical information handling. A website is a form of communication that symbolically represents its parent organization. Content analysis of banking websites is proposed as a valid way to assess institutional values. The twelve principles of the New Zealand Privacy Act (1993) articulate national values for information handling and privacy protection and therefore provide a coding template for a content analysis of banking websites. New Zealand banking websites were found to demonstrate a basic level of understanding and commitment to the privacy of customer information. While all seven banks had a privacy statement, none demonstrated a pervasive commitment to meeting all the requirements of the New Zealand Privacy Act. The concept of using legislated privacy principles as a basis for assessing national information handling values and business integrity could assist banks to provide the integrity assurances that customers seek thereby enhancing their competitive advantage.

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Wan Mohd Hirwani Wan Hussain  is a tutor at UKM-Graduate School of Business. He is A Yahoo Expert Publisher. His areas of interest include legal marketing, online legal advertising in Malaysia, How to develop a good website for lawyers, Legal Constraints in Malaysia for Publicity of law firms and etc.

Abstract

Although the subject of online legal marketing has been widely discussed in a country like USA as an evolution of legal service especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona in 1977, it is still far from clear whether online legal marketing in Malaysia is currently given a similar emphasis by local lawyers to indicate new techniques for the delivery of legal services in the challenging trends in the legal marketplace. At this point we prefer to quote a remark from one prominent author of the End of Lawyers (Susskind, 2008) that although the title of this paper- are lawyers in Malaysia left behind-might appear rather self-destructive, the question mark in the title should at least hint, we write to examine and scrutinise why issues on online legal marketing receive less attention in Malaysia. This article evaluates the limitations faced by legal practitioners especially in the area of marketing of their services in Malaysia. The article also analyses the areas in services marketing that are able to accommodate the current provisions in regulations. It then highlights the nature of online relationship between the solicitor and the client in order to find out possibilities of roles and duties of the solicitor. Problems like legal constraints and it is with due respect a trend to  maintain the traditional technique for the delivery of legal sytem by lawyers in Malaysia are identified as among the factors led to the less of interest to the online legal marketing subject. Finally, the article contributes to some suggestions on possible and flexible approaches and features for legal practitioners in exploiting marketing tools and techniques for their business success. We propose that despite some legal constraints for the lawyer’s marketing purpose, Malaysian lawyers should now consider to comprehend the importance of online legal marketing for their survival and thus, the legal constraints should be not be strictly interpreted to prevent the online legal marketing. 

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