BORDERLESS DEALS, BOUNDLESS DISPUTES: UNTANGLING JURISDICTION AND LEGAL CONFLICTS IN THE GLOBAL E-COMMERCE MAZE

Abstract

In an era, where a single click can spark a transaction across continents, the age-old principles of jurisdiction and conflict of laws are being stretched to their limits. When a dispute arises from e-commerce involving parties located in different nations, the parties are immediately presented with conflict-of-laws issues such as judicial jurisdiction, applicable law, and extra-territorial impacts of judgments. The paper argues for more harmonized legal mechanisms that reflect the global nature of digital commerce because, in a world where commerce travels at the speed of light, the law must not crawl. This research critically examined the quandaries of trans-border enforcement of electronic contracts and whether there is universality of adequate laws to facilitate a seamless execution of cross boarder e contracts. The methodology used in this research is the doctrinal research method, which involves a systematic analysis of the primary and secondary source materials, including statutes, decisions of Courts, texts, journals and internet sources. The researcher found that although there is no universality of laws, there exists a unified enforcement mechanism of e contracts under certain circumstances. The researcher recommends that there is an urgent need for more countries to become signatories to strategic e commerce conventions and treaties.