JURISDICTION AND CHOICE OF LAW ISSUES ARISING IN ELECTRONIC CONTRACT DISPUTES - AN EU - KSA COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Background: The cross-border electronic contract disputes are one of the most important modern issues in the field of information and communication technology, as it is natural for disputes to arise between the parties to these contracts that begin with the forms of determining the law applicable to them and the ability of traditional and modern rules of law to reach it, as well as the problem of determining the judicial court to settle disputes that arise from this type of contract. Aims and objectives: The aims of the dissertation are to focus on the normal rules of private international law in EU and KSA’s legislations. The point that will be explained and evaluated is the application of these principles to handle cross-border electronic contract disputes, which are brought before EU and Saudi courts. Results: There are no special provisions in the laws of the EU or in Saudi law that deal with the issues of cross-border contracts that take place in cyberspace. Concerning B2C contracts, a consumer residing in the EU can file a case against the other party, whether in the court in which he is domiciled or even in the court in which the consumer is domiciled. On the other hand, the provisions of the Saudi Law are devoid of any special treatment for the consumer, and therefore the Saudi court will refuse to hear the case if the defendant is a non-KSA domiciled foreigner. Therefore, due to the absence of connecting factors for the application of foreign law in KSA, the autonomy of the parties to choose a foreign law governing the contract is not envisaged. Recommendation: There is a necessity of setting connecting factors in the Saudi law showing how to apply a foreign chosen law in the contract. Moreover, it is important to propose some solutions to raise the level of protection for the parties to the cross-border electronic contract in Saudi law, especially those that the consumer must have, whether at the stage of determining the competent court or determining the law applicable to the contract. Therefore, the Saudi law is required in particular to add an article that allows the consumer to file a case against the foreigner, even if the latter is not residing in KSA.