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 vario ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. 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 legislature, legislative and executive (government), executive branches of ...

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 The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977c 50 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulates contracts by restricting the operation and legality of some contract terms. It extends to nearly all forms of contract and one of its most impor ...

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 A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

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 Offer or offers may refer to: People * Ofer Eshed or Offer Eshed (1942-2007), Israeli basketball player * Offer Nissim (born 1964), Israeli house DJ * Avner Offer, economic historian * Dick Offer, English rower * Jack Offer, English rower * Steve ...

).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 Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

, 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), Statut ...

may apply. These rights can be expressly exempted,reg 9(1). although these regulations applied to the exemption clause, as did the

and the

Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999SI 1999/2083 is an old UK statutory instrument, which had implemented the EU (then EEC) Unfair Consumer Contract Terms Directivebr>93/13/EECinto domestic law.Implemented under the European C ...

. 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

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 punishable ...

.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 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 ...

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 ''Entores Ltd v Miles Far East Corporation'' Court_of_Appeal_of_England_and_Wales">Court_of_Appeal_decision_in_contract_law_on_the_moment_of_offer_and_acceptance.html" "title="contract_law.html" ;"title="Court of Appeal of England and Wales">Co ...

955 Year 955 (Roman numerals, 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 (955), Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I, H ...

2 QB 327. and so communication is effect when received or when it can reasonably be deemed to have been received.

External links

OPSI: SI 2002/2013

References