Internet Jurisdiction and Choice of Law: Legal Practices in the EU, US and China

The adoption of electronic commercial transactions has facilitated cross-border trade and business, but the complexity of determining the place of business and other connecting factors in cyberspace has challenged existing private international law. This comparison of the rules of internet jurisdiction and choice of law as well as online dispute resolution (ODR) covers both B2B and B2C contracts in the EU, USA and China. It highlights the achievement of the Rome I Regulation in the EU, evaluates the merits of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreement at the international level and gives an insight into the current developments in CIDIP. The in-depth research allows for solutions to be proposed relating to the problems of the legal uncertainty of internet conflict of law and the validity and enforceability of ODR agreements and decisions.

Part I: 1. Introduction; Part II. Jurisdiction: 2. Jurisdiction in electronic contracting; 3. EU rules applied in cyber jurisdiction; 4. US jurisdiction tests employed in e-contracting disputes; 5. Chinese legislation on jurisdiction; Part III. Choice of Law: 6. Choice of law in electronic contracting; 7. EU internet choice of law regime; 8. US internet choice of law rules; 9. China internet choice of law approaches; Part IV. Online Dispute Resolution: 10. Alternative dispute resolution and the internet; 11. The legal obstacles and solutions to online arbitration and online mediation; Part V. The Future: 12. Conclusion and recommendation.