Electronic International Contracts in the Law of Foreign Countries

Abstract

Objective. The purpose of the research is to investigate the legislation concerning international electronic contracts, including the legislation that regulates e-commerce, electronic signatures, and electronic contracts. The research is also conducted with the aim of identifying the peculiarities of the legislation of individual countries that regulate international electronic commercial contracts and to determine to what extent the modern legislation of individual countries is adapted and corresponds to modern trends in e-commerce. Research methods: The work was carried out using general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge. Results: The regulatory acts of individual foreign countries have been identified, and the content of some of them has been analysed, namely, the UNICTRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce, the EU Directive on Electronic Identification (eIDAS), the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Electronic Commerce, the legislation of the United Kingdom, the United States of America (the US Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), the Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA)), Japan (Law on Electronic Signatures and Business Certification) and Canada (Uniform Electronic Commerce Act). International regulatory acts that regulate e-commerce, electronic signatures, and international electronic commercial contracts in one way or another have been identified and characterized. Ukrainian legislation on the same subject of regulation has been studied. The legislation of foreign countries, namely, on electronic commercial contracts, electronic signatures, and e-commerce, has been analysed and briefly characterized. Conclusions. In the context of the study, it has been concluded that in the current stage of societal development, every country that seeks to develop and somehow relates its development to modern technologies has sufficiently developed legal regulation of electronic signatures, electronic contracts, and international commerce. From the very beginning of the implementation of electronic digital data, electronic signatures, and electronic contracts, states have tried to regulate these processes in order to make them as simple, specific, and as helpful as possible to citizens and businesses. The development of legislation in the field of international e-commerce is one of the important factors in the overall development of a state and the formation of a modern and, above all, stable economy of the state. The desire of states to regulate international electronic commercial contracts primarily indicates that the state is interested in its growth, the growth of the economy, and the growth in the standard of living of its citizens.