Jurisdiction Friction
     Wallis' proposal could end the flap over changes to a 1968 document called the Brussels Convention. Changes to the rules would allow consumers in any European Union country to sue businesses in the local court in the town where the consumer resides. But e-commerce businesses in Europe and the United States worried that the changes would leave business vulnerable to lawsuits within the 15 member states of the European Union.
     The European consumers lobby group (BEUC) maintains that the issue is one of consumers' rights and if industry had its druthers, consumers would be forced to take disputes over e-commerce transactions gone awry to another country. The BEUC also has said that even if there are alternatives to court battles, consumers should still have a right to take a business to court in their own country, with their own language and their own legal system.
     But business has scoffed at the proposal, saying industry can't be expected to know the laws in so many member states.
     "It's unheard of in international law," said Christiaan Van der Valk, an e-commerce expert with the International Chamber of Commerce. "It's being justified by consumer groups but it's very short sighted."
     Both industry in Europe and the United States have said it would be small- and medium-sized businesses that would really suffer from the proposal.
     "The Commission was acting prematurely and trying to apply a paper-based solution to the digital world," said Sheila O'Neill, vice president of global affairs for the Information Technology Association of America. "You'd have small and medium sized businesses unaware of the convention. It would make doing business onerous."

Industry Could Score Victory
     The flap e-businesses have raised over the e-commerce provision of the Brussels Convention might have paid off, said Gerard de Graaf, first secretary for trade with the European Union's Washington delegation.
     "It is not going to be implemented as it was foreseen," de Graaf said.
     Wallis' move to set up an alternative dispute system could be a stall tactic designed to give businesses time to demonstrate that there are alternatives to fights in court, de Graaf explained.
     If these dispute resolutions put a speedy end to fights between businesses and consumers, it just might replace the need for lawsuits.
     "In political terms, it's (Wallis' proposal) attractive," he said. "It puts the burden on industry."
     Wallis' had envisioned her proposal be adopted by February and for the European Council of Ministers to make a decision by March or April.

An Alternative To Disputes?
     While Europe struggles to craft its own e-commerce laws, industry observers in the United States are quick to point out that alternatives to court battles for consumers or sellers wronged in an e-commerce sale is still a fledgling business. Even in the United States, there are lingering questions about how large a role the government should play, if at all, in out-of-court resolutions. The issue gets more complicated when cross-border disputes arise, bringing with them a host of disparate legal traditions, cultural differences and language barriers.
     Scott Cooper, manager for technology policy with Hewlett-Packard, said the European Union is still early in the process of grappling with these often sticky cyberlaw issues.
     "I don't think they are much further along this path than we are," said Cooper, who has just returned from meetings about the issue in Brussels.
     But even if these plans are embryonic, Van der Valk said they're important, adding that the European Parliament and Commission could still be divided between business and consumer interests.
     Whatever happens with the Brussels Convention's e-commerce provision, Van der Valk said it could have far-reaching impacts.
     "We believe that these discussions in Europe may be important for what happens internationally," he said.
- by Caroline Broder