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The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, SI 2002/2013, incorporates the EU
Electronic Commerce Directive The e-Commerce Directive, adopted in 2000, sets up an Internal Market framework for online services. Its aim is to remove obstacles to cross-border online services in the EU internal market and provide legal certainty for businesses and consumer ...
2000/31/EC into the
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
of the United Kingdom. Enacted pursuant to European Communities Act 1972 They apply to
contracts A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
concluded by electronic means over distance whereby the buyer is a consumer. This
subordinate legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democra ...
provides for rights of the consumer and provisions for which the seller is obliged to fulfill.


Definition of a consumer

A Consumer is a "natural person who is acting for the purposes other than those of his trade, business or profession."reg 2(1). The definition is slightly broader than that for the purposes of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 as the subjective requirement of ''the person not regarding themselves as acting in the course of a business'', therefore one may be a consumer if using a company account or using business details for tax purposes.


Obligations imposed upon the seller

Before the contract is formed, the seller must state in a "clear comprehensible and unambiguous manner" the technical step involved to place an order (contractual offer).reg 9(1)(a). Terms and conditions under which the contract is concluded must be made available to the consumer in a means capable of reproduction and storage.reg 9(3). This does not apply to email, although the
Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (totally repealed in June 2014 by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 which in many respects are however similar regulations), Stat ...
may apply. These rights can be expressly exempted,reg 9(1). although these regulations applied to the exemption clause, as did the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Information that must be provided to the consumer. * Acknowledgement of the order by electronic means without undue delay,reg 11(1)(a). and information of how to amend any input errors made.reg 11(1)(b). More information must be given under the
Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (totally repealed in June 2014 by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 which in many respects are however similar regulations), Stat ...
.


Rights of the consumer

Liability of breach of these conditions gives rise to an action for
Breach of statutory duty A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishabl ...
.reg 13. A court order may be given for access to terms and conditions of which the ''consumer'' has already consented. Where the ''consumer'' has not been informed in the correct manner of the procedure to amend errors in orders and they have made errors, the contract can be rescinded.reg 15.


Contractual construction

reg 12 provides that a contractual offer occurs when the order is sent. RichardsRichards, P, ''The Law of Contract'', ed7 (2006, London: Pearsons) at 42 construes reg 11(2) as providing that the acknowledgement screen will constitute a contractual acceptance. ''Instantaneous Communication'' here is in line with that discussed by Lord Denning in '' Entores Ltd v Miles Far East Corporation''
955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also ...
2 QB 327.
and so communication is effect when received or when it can reasonably be deemed to have been received.


See also

* Electronic Signature Regulations 2002 *
Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (totally repealed in June 2014 by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 which in many respects are however similar regulations), Stat ...
*
Sale of Goods Act 1979 The Sale of Goods Act 1979c 54 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulated English contract law and UK commercial law in respect of goods that are sold and bought. The Act consolidated the original Sale of Goods Act 1893 ...
* Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 *
Electronic Commerce Directive The e-Commerce Directive, adopted in 2000, sets up an Internal Market framework for online services. Its aim is to remove obstacles to cross-border online services in the EU internal market and provide legal certainty for businesses and consumer ...


External links


OPSI: SI 2002/2013


References

{{Reflist English contract law 2002 in British law Statutory Instruments of the United Kingdom E-commerce in the United Kingdom