The Legal Architecture for E-Commerce in Ethiopia: Lessons from the EU Experiences

The technological developments in the area of cyberspace have transformed e-commerce in many nations and their internet economies in the past few decades. The advances in these technologies coupled with the mushrooming of Cyberspace frauds by internet hackers and crackers have ensued in a very complicated problem for both developed and developing nations. The internet economy, being a recent development in many countries of the world, has not yet grown to its fullest measure. However, multiplicities of threats including the infringement of cyber security policies, cyber crimes, and other online business frauds have come to be the chief hitches that impede the development of e-commerce in general and the internet economy in particular. Cross-Border E-commerce underlies the increasing trends of internet economies in different countries including both the developed and developing countries. The boosting of these internet economies through cross-border e-commerce have attracted the attentions of many improper online embezzlers who always strive to industrialize the underground internet economies gained through online business frauds, cyber crimes and so many other improper online business transactions. Lots of efforts have been exerted by many countries, the major ones being the US and the UK, to halt the threats of business frauds in e-commerce and cyberspace insecurity which would otherwise jeopardize both small scale and large scale online businesses in these countries. Besides, many intergovernmental organizations including the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU), the Organization of American States(OAS), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) and United Nations Commission for Trade And Development(UNCTAD) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa(UNECA), just to name few, have began the work of comprehensively studying the threats targeted at the development of e-commerce and related cybercrimes. In fact, the US and the EU have been praised to have done a pioneering work of regulating the legal atmosphere of cross-border e-commerce to make an effective cross-border e-commerce possible.
Cross-border e-commerce has been a very recent and infant development in Ethiopia. Ethiopia does not have an orchestrated system for regulating cross-border e-commerce. This work explores the experiences of the EU and other International Organizations in regulating cross-border e-commerce and recommends Ethiopia to draw workable lessons particularly from the EU experiences to buttress the current efforts to design the legal architecture for an effective cross-border e-commerce in the country.

Autorentext

Biruk Paulos is a renowned Lecturer of laws at Dilla University School of Law. International Economic Law is his area of interest and expertise. He has master's degree (LLM) in International Law from Ethiopian Civil Service University, a recognized and internationally accredited University in Ethiopia, in a partnership program with the University of Graz (Uni-Graz) in Austria. He received his bachelors' degree in law (LLB) from Jimma University Faculty of Law. He has obtained other post graduate certificates from Higher Diploma Program (HDP) at Dilla University and Federal Judges and Prosecutors Training Centre (JPTC) at Hawassa City, Ethiopia. He has served as a Judge and a Public Prosecutor at Hossana City Court and Prosecution Department for several years. Besides, he is the coordinator of an Irish Government and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission supported Legal Aid Centre at Dilla City and its branches at nearby cities.

Klappentext

The development and spread of the Internet technology across the globe has fomented the use of a wide range of internet based social and commercial services. For instance, social networks like the Face book, the Twitter, The Picasa, LinkedIn, Tagged, .etc and commercial services as in the case of Amazon.com and the eBay online sellers are few of the multitude of online internet services available on various websites(UNCTAD,2013). Besides, governments are using the internet for divergent purposes the central use being for the provision of public services for the general public including electronic payment of bills and electronic taxation. Various Banks also apply the internet technology to provide facility for electronic payment systems across borders (Ibid). Virtually all types of business enterprises (including Large Size Enterprises, Small and Medium Size enterprises), the government and various consumers are engaged in cross-border e-commerce. All of these actors of Cross-Border E-Commerce(CBEC) demand all the facilities that make CBEC possible (e-commerce infrastructure) and a secure electronic business environment (E-commerce security) for any kind of transactions they make based on the internet medium (Ibid). Despite such demand for e-commerce infrastructure and e-commerce security by the actors of CBEC, the general trend of using the internet for e-commerce particularly CBEC is increasing at an increasing rate (Ibid). There are overhanging problems of regulating CBEC at the international level. Indeed, the effective regulation of CBEC calls for the application of the integrated system of regulatory policies, legislations, institutions and technological framework (Ibid). There are prospects that make the regulation of CBEC possible while there are also challenges that thwart it. The development and spread of the use of Internet for E-commerce is increasing year to year in Ethiopia as good as it does in the global system (INSA, 2014). Accordingly, the CBEC has an increasing trend in Ethiopia. The increase in such commerce has faced multiple of legal issues that need to be regulated in an orchestrated system of Policies, legislations, institutions and the adoption of advanced technologies in Ethiopia. An orchestrated system of e-commerce regulation means making the regulatory issues of cross-border e-commerce the front and central concern of policies, legislations, institutions and ICT technologies that in one or other way deal with e-c

Leseprobe
Text Sample:
Chapter 1.1 Background:
The development and spread of the Internet technology across the globe has fomented the use of a wide range of internet based social and commercial services. For instance, social networks like the Face book, the Twitter, The Picasa, LinkedIn, Tagged, .etc and commercial services as in the case of Amazon.com and the eBay online sellers are few of the multitude of online internet services available on various websites(UNCTAD,2013). Besides, governments are using the internet for divergent purposes the central use being for the provision of public services for the general public including electronic payment of bills and electronic taxation. Various Banks also apply the internet technology to provide facility for electronic payment systems across borders (Ibid). Virtually all types of business enterprises (including Large Size Enterprises, Small and Medium Size enterprises), the government and various consumers are engaged in cross-border e-commerce. All of these actors of Cross-Border E-Commerce(CBEC) demand all the facilities that make CBEC possible (e-commerce infrastructure) and a secure electronic business environment (E-commerce security) for any kind of transactions they make based on the internet medium (Ibid). Despite such demand for e-commerce infrastructure and e-commerce security by the actors of CBEC, the general trend of using the internet for e-commerce particularly CBEC is increasing at an increasing rate (Ibid). There are overhanging problems of regulating CBEC at the international level. Indeed, the effective regulation of CBEC calls for the application of the integrated system of regulatory policies, legislations, institutions and technological framework (Ibid). There are prospects that make the regulation of CBEC possible while the…