International Electronic Commerce Regulation in the United States

Public Meetings on Electronic Commerce

October 2016 Meeting

A public meeting on Electronic Commerce was held, under the auspices of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, on October 25, 2016, at the Department of State, Washington DC. The meeting was chaired by a representative of the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.

The Secretariat of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) prepared three documents, which contain revised draft provisions of a model law enabling the use of electronic transferable records for discussion during the October 31 – November 4, 2016 meeting of UNCITRAL’s Working Group IV. In addition to the draft provisions, the Working Papers contain remarks and comments from the UNCITRAL Secretariat.

The purpose of the public meeting was to obtain the views of concerned stakeholders on the contents of the Working Papers. In particular, participants in the public meeting were asked to discuss each of the following issues:

• The drafting of Article 9(1)(b)(i) as well as the references to “singularity” in the accompanying comments.
• The lack of qualifying language in Article 9(1)(a) and the accompanying comment in paragraph 19 of Notes Document A/CN.9/WG.IV/WP.139/Add.1
• Article 4(2), which states that agreements to derogate do not affect the rights of any person not a party to that agreement.
• The general principles referred to in Article 3(2).
• The drafting of Article 10, which addresses the concept of control.
• Article 14, which pertains to the issuance of multiple originals, and the accompanying remarks in paragraphs 15 and 16 of Notes Document  A/CN.9/WG.IV/WP.139/Add.2.
• Articles 18 and 19, which address changes in medium, and the accompanying remark in paragraph 37 of Notes Document A/CN.9/WG.IV/WP.139/Add.2.
• The effect of this proposed model law on Articles 16 and 17 of UNCITRAL’s Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

May 2016 Meeting

Another public meeting on Electronic Commerce was held, under the auspices of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, on May 3, 2016, at the Department of State, Washington DC.

Working Group IV (electronic commerce) of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently focusing on electronic transferable records. In response to a request from Working Group IV, the UNCITRAL Secretariat drafted a Note containing draft articles for a model law on electronic transferable records. This model law would enable the use of electronic transferable records where paper-based documents or instruments would otherwise be used. The 47th, 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st and 52nd Sessions of Working Group IV discussed the draft articles. Based on these discussions, the Secretariat drafted an updated Note containing draft articles. The updated Note contains draft articles addressing (A) general provisions; (B) provisions on electronic transactions; (C) use of electronic transferable records; and (D) cross-border recognition of electronic transferable records. This updated Note will be discussed during the 53rd Session of Working Group IV May 9-13, 2016.

October 2015 Meeting

Another public meeting on Electronic Commerce was held, under the auspices of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, on October 27, 2015, at the Department of State, Washington DC. The meeting was chaired by Michael Coffee of the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.

Working Group IV (electronic commerce) of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently focusing on electronic transferable records. In response to a request from Working Group IV, the UNCITRAL Secretariat drafted a Note containing draft articles for a model law on electronic transferable records. The 47th, 48th, 49th, 50th and 51st Sessions of Working Group IV discussed the draft articles. Based on these discussions, the Secretariat drafted an updated Note containing draft articles. The updated Note contains draft articles addressing (A) general provisions; (B) provisions on electronic transactions; (C) use of electronic transferable records; and (D) cross-border recognition of electronic transferable records.

May 2015 Meeting

Another public meeting on Electronic Commerce was held, under the auspices of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, on May 29, 2015 at the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC. The meeting, which was held in coordination with American Bar Association’s Identity Management Legal Task Force and Georgetown University Law Center’s Center on Transnational Business and the Law, was chaired by a representative of the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.

At its 2014 annual meeting, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) decided to explore possible future work in the field of electronic commerce, considering as possible topics, identity management, trust services, electronic transfers and cloud computing. The issue of digital identity management has surfaced as one of the most important topics, particularly in light of recent legislative enactments in both the European Union and the United States governing identity management services. Accordingly, it was expected that there would be a proposal to the 2015 annual meeting of UNCITRAL to undertake work in the fields of identity management and related trust services. The purpose of the public meeting was to obtain the views of concerned stakeholders on the possibility of UNCITRAL work in these areas in advance of the annual meeting.

May 2015 Meeting

Another public meeting on Electronic Commerce was held, under the auspices of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, on May 12, 2015 at the Department of State, Washington DC. The meeting was chaired by a representative of the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.

Working Group IV (electronic commerce) of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently focusing on electronic transferable records. In response to a request from Working Group IV, the UNCITRAL Secretariat drafted a Note containing draft articles for a model law on electronic transferable records. The 47th, 48th, 49th and 50th Sessions of Working Group IV discussed the draft articles. Based on these discussions, the Secretariat drafted an updated Note containing draft articles. The updated Note contains draft articles addressing (A) general provisions; (B) provisions on electronic transactions; (C) use of electronic transferable records; (D) third-party service providers; and (E) cross-border recognition of electronic transferable records.

October 2014 Meeting

Another public meeting on Electronic Commerce was held, under the auspices of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, on October 27, 2014 at the Department of State, Washington DC. The meeting was chaired by a representative of the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.

Working Group IV (Electronic Commerce) of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently focusing on electronic transferable records. The Working Group has not decided what type of instrument it might ultimately pursue but decided that it would be efficient to work based on the text of a model law. In response to a request from Working Group IV, the UNCITRAL Secretariat drafted a Note containing draft articles for a model law on electronic transferable records. The 47th, 48th and 49th Sessions of Working Group IV discussed the draft articles. Based on these discussions, the Secretariat drafted an updated Note (A/CN.9/WG.IV/WP.130 and A/CN.9/WG.IV/WP.130/Add.1) containing draft articles. The updated Note contains draft articles addressing (A) general provisions; (B) provisions on electronic transactions; (C) use of electronic transferable records; (D) third-party service providers; and (E) cross-border recognition of electronic transferable records.

April 2014 Meeting

Another public meeting on Electronic Commerce was held, under the auspices of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, on April 22, 20134 at the Department of State, Washington DC. The meeting was chaired by a representative of the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.

Working Group IV (electronic commerce) of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently focusing on electronic transferable records. The Working Group has not decided what type of instrument it might ultimately pursue but decided that it would be efficient to work based on the text of a model law. In response to a request from Working Group IV, the UNCITRAL Secretariat drafted a Note containing draft articles for a model law on electronic transferable records. The 47th and 48th Sessions of Working Group IV discussed the draft articles. Based on these discussions, the Secretariat drafted an updated Note containing draft articles. The updated Note contains draft articles addressing (A) general provisions; (B) provisions on electronic transactions; (C) use of electronic transferable records; (D) third-party service providers; and (E) cross-border recognition of electronic transferable records.

April 2013 Meeting

Another public meeting on Electronic Commerce was held, under the auspices of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law, on April 30, 2013, at the Department of State, Washington DC. The meeting was chaired by a representative of the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.

Working Group IV (electronic commerce) of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently focusing on electronic transferable records. The Working Group has not decided what type of instrument it might ultimately pursue but decided that it would be efficient to work based on the text of a model law. In response to a request from the 46th Session of Working Group IV, the UNCITRAL Secretariat drafted a Note containing draft articles for a model law on electronic transferable records. The Note contains draft articles addressing (A) general provisions; (B) use of electronic transferable records; (C) third-party service providers; and (D) cross-border recognition of electronic transferable records.