Article by Amelia H. Boss
The thesis of this Article is that the symbiotic relationship between domestic commercial law and international developments generally will be greater in the area of electronic commerce than in the field of sales, and that the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce will have a greater impact on developments in United States domestic commercial law than either the UNCITRAL Convention on the International Sale of Goods or the UNIDROIT Principles on International Commercial Contracts. Moreover, the ongoing revision efforts within the Uniform Commercial Code, in conjunction with the other domestic law reform efforts in the areas of electronic commerce, has had and will continue to have a significant impact on international legal developments.
Part II of this Article will examine the relationship generally between international and domestic law reform, outlining both the manner in which the two interacted previously and how they are currently interacting in the area of electronic commerce. Part III will turn to an examination of the formulation of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce, and the influence of United States domestic developments. Part IV will examine the relationship from the opposite perspective: the influence of the UNCITRAL Model Law on domestic legal developments. Part V turns to the growing area of digital and electronic signatures legislation, and the relationship between domestic efforts and current UNCITRAL work. Part VI will conclude with an analysis of why the patterns of interaction have changed from harmonization to cooperation and coordination, and why the international and domestic developments are so intertwined.
The symbiotic process described in this Article is not merely a United States phenomenon but rather a global phenomenon. The patterns of interaction between United States domestic law and international law are replicated in other contexts and with other countries. It is hoped, however, that this discussion of United States developments will contribute to our understandings of the dynamics shaping the evolution of domestic and international rules and norms in the context of electronic commerce.
About the Author
Amelia H. Boss. Professor of Law, Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Citation
72 Tul. L. Rev. 1931 (1998)