The purpose of the article is to discuss the issues arising in the field of conflict of laws in electronic commerce between consumers and foreign operators of the electronic marketplace in the Republic of Uzbekistan. By examining existing provisions of the Uzbek private international law, the article shows that the classical connecting factors of lex voluntatis, lex loci contractus and lex venditoris comprehensively neglect the interests of consumers from Uzbekistan in relation to online marketplace operators from abroad. The need for a conflict of laws provision for cross-border consumer contracts is identified as a critical legislative need: No conflict of laws provisions for cross-border consumer contracts are included in Law No. 792 "On Electronic Commerce". The article is based on a comparative analysis of three models (EU, USA, PRC) and makes a conclusion that the EU model is the most suitable model for legislative adaptation in Uzbekistan. Proposals for Law No. 792 and for the civil procedure framework are made in the form of concrete de lege ferenda proposals.
Conflict-Of-Laws Regulation in Cross-Border Electronic Commerce: Protecting Uzbek Consumer Rights in Disputes with Foreign Online Marketplace Operators
DOI:
Keywords:
Abstract
References
Normative Legal Acts
Civil Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Part One), approved by Law No. 163-I of 21 December 1995 (as amended). National Database of Legislation. URL: https://lex.uz/docs/111181
Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Electronic Commerce" No. 792 of 29 September 2022. National Database of Legislation. URL: https://lex.uz/ru/docs/6213428
Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Consumer Protection" No. 221-I of 26 April 1996 (as amended). National Database of Legislation. URL: https://lex.uz/docs/111984
Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I). OJ L 177, 04.07.2008. URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2008/593/oj/eng
Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I bis). OJ L 351, 20.12.2012. URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/1215/oj/eng
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on a Single Market For Digital Services (Digital Services Act). OJ L 277, 27.10.2022. URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj
P.R.C. E-Commerce Law (2018). URL: https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/p-r-c-e-commerce-law-2018/
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce (1996). New York: United Nations, 1999. URL: https://uncitral.un.org/en/texts/ecommerce/modellaw/electronic_commerce
Scientific Literature and Analytical Sources
KPMG. E-Commerce in Uzbekistan. Tashkent: KPMG, 2022. URL: https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/uz/pdf/2023/E-commerce-in-Uzbekistan.pdf
Mazhorina M.V., Terentyeva L.V., Shakhnazarov B.A. Private International Law in the Context of the Development of Information and Communication Technologies. Actual Problems of Russian Law. 2019. No. 5. Pp. 169-182. DOI: 10.17803/1994-1471.2019.102.5.169-182
Terentyeva L.V. Grounds for Establishing International Judicial Jurisdiction in Cross-Border Consumer Disputes in the Digital Age. Lex Russica. 2019. No. 11. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/osnovaniya-ustanovleniya-mezhdunarodnoy-sudebnoy-yurisdiktsii-primenitelno-k-transgranichnym-potrebitelskim-sporam-v-tsifrovuyu
Ruzinazarov Sh.N., Achilova L.I., Rakhmonkulova N. Legal aspects of electronic trading platform regulation. AIP Conference Proceedings. 2023. DOI: 10.1063/5.0147704