E-Commerce and Jurisdiction in Consumer Disputes: Indian Perspective

Abstract

The internet has made the world flat without any geographical boundary. E-commerce is built on electronic communication system that travels freely without any territorial boundary. E-commerce does not recognise either jurisdictional or geographic boundaries.[1] This nature of e-commerce creates a challenge in determining jurisdiction of courts in case of a dispute between a consumer and an e-trader. The existing legal framework for territorial jurisdiction is primarily focused on geographical boundaries. The challenges of jurisdiction in e-commerce do not restrain to resolution of consumer disputes but also include jurisdiction to regulate e-commerce for the protection of rights and interest of consumers.This paper is an honest attempt to analyse the jurisdictional issues and challenges in e-commerce and to test the efficacy of the existing legal framework in India with respect to jurisdiction to decide consumer disputes and regulate e-commerce platforms.