Parties’ legal capacity in electronic commerce transactions

The aim of this article is to scrutinise the uncertainty of the Iranian Electronic Commerce Law (IRI ECL 2004) provisions especially on the issue of capacity of parties. Issues of parties’ legal capacity have been resolved in traditional contracts but they are still debatable in electronic commerce transactions. Under UK law, contracts formed by minors for things other than necessities are unenforceable against the minor but enforceable against the merchant (seller) while according to US uniform commercial code in online contracts capacity is not recognized as a legal excuse to nullify a contract. At the mean time, contracts made by incapacitate person is considered null under Iranian law. In spite of technical developments such as digital signatures and smart cards used in verifying the identity and capacity of parties in electronic commerce transactions, the legal certainty on capacity of parties is still questionable. The article also examines the application of traditional contract general rules on parties’ legal capacity in Iran to electronic commerce with reference to EU law. The EU law which is already at an advance stage serves a guide for future development of e-commerce law in Iran.     

From old to new: From internet to smart contracts and from people to smart contracts

Discussing legal issues related to smart contracts on the blockchain is very topical. This article will discuss primarily smart contracts on the blockchain the conclusion and execution of which does not interact with the physical world, as well as briefly touch upon smart contracts on the blockchain which do interact with the physical world. For these smart contracts, it will be determined to what extent existing EU internet laws can help support their development and if not, what is needed to support this. In order to answer this question, the following will be discussed: the rise of e-commerce and in particular the EU internet laws supporting and regulating e-commerce, how smart contracts work and how smart contracts compare with existing technological developments and comparable legal constructs (internet, bank accounts and bank guarantees). Subsequently, it will be explained how the use of smart contracts leads to a shift of confidence, from trust in people to trust in code. On the basis of The DAO hack and the problems that arose, it will be illustrated that this shift to trust in code is not as absolute as is often thought. The article concludes that applying specific EU laws on supporting and regulating e-commerce to smart contracts is difficult for two reasons. First of all, the starting points differ: trust in people versus trust in code. Secondly, technical and practical obstacles often inhibit applying internet laws in a meaningful manner. When using smart contracts, it makes more sense to prevent problems from arising than to correct them afterwards. For this reason, it is advocated that programmers work together with lawyers to create better smart contracts and that the legislator focuses on laws dealing with auditing smart contracts code by trusted third parties and automatically equating smart contracts with written contracts with wet ink signatures. This will hopefully facilitate the rise of smart contracts on the blockchain.     

欧盟保险法的统一进程

在欧盟,以宪法性法律文件为基础,通过三代保险指令,也包括正在形成的第四代保险指令,欧盟的单一保险市场正在逐步形成.但相对于欧盟的保险监管制度来说,保险合同方面的调和则严重滞后.在这一领域,目前法律的发展仅局限于对保险合同冲突法的调整.这种状况导致了保险服务自由的目标难以实现.为了改变这种局面,欧盟的相关机构进行了有益的探索.其中的关键问题在于,欧盟应为各成员国提供统一的保单持有者的保护标准.顺应这一要求,最好的办法是颁布有关欧盟保险合同的实体法.我国作为世贸组织的一员和保险法尚不完善的国家,对于其中的动态应给予足够的关注.     

"No-hire" clauses in healthcare sector contracts: their use and enforceability

In today's healthcare industry, many hospitals utilize outside agencies for both business and clinical functions. This Article acknowledges the prevalence of outsourcing contract labor in the healthcare arena and focuses on the restrictive provisions included in these employment contracts, particularly "no-hire" clauses. No-hire clauses are often included in contracts between healthcare providers and professional groups that provide clinical service employees to the provider, such as a medical practice group providing physicians to a hospital or an agency providing nurses to a nursing home. These clauses usually provide that the healthcare provider may not directly hire an employee provided by the professional group, nor may it contract with another professional group that later hires the employee. The purpose of a no-hire clause is two-fold: to protect the professional group's investment of time and moneyfor recruiting, training, and establishing the employee's clinical practice, and to give the professional group leverage to retain its employees. While noncompete clauses in employment contracts have traditionally been the subject of litigation, no-hire clauses raise distinct legal issues. Case law provides conflicting views as to the enforceability of these provisions. Some courts find no-hire clauses to be per se illegal restrictions on trade, while others will permit them when they are reasonable within a specific context. The author proposes that a multifactor test be applied on a case-by-case basis to determine the reasonableness of the no-hire provision in a given employment contract and suggests drafting improvements to facilitate enforcement.     

Medicare and Medicaid programs; advance directives--HCFA. Interim final rule with comment period

This interim final rule amends the Medicare and Medicaid regulations governing provider agreements and contracts to establish requirements for States, hospitals, nursing facilities, skilled nursing facilities, providers of home health care or personal care services, hospice programs and prepaid health plans concerning advance directives. An advance directive is a written instruction, such as a living will or durable power of attorney for health care, recognized under State law, relating to the provision of health care when an individual's condition makes him or her unable to express his or her wishes. The intent of these provisions is to enhance an individual's control over medical treatment decisions. This rule implements sections 4206 and 4751 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA '90), Public Law 101-508.     

EU–China Competition Dialogue: A New Step in the Internationalisation of EU Competition Law?

EU has been the protagonist in promoting the internationalization of competition laws based on EU competition law norms. The development of China's Antimonopoly Law shows that EU has succeeded so far in establishing itself as the main reference point for China's competition regulation. The success can be mainly attributed to the EU‐China Competition Dialogue (Dialogue), a new initiative set up by EU and China in 2004. The paper reviews the internationalization of EU competition law and its characteristics. It then examines the Dialogue and how EU exported its competition law norms to one of the latest AML secondary legislations on Antimonopoly Pricing. It argues that the Dialogue's informal nature, EU's routinized technical assistance to Chinese competition authorities and its China‐oriented strategy in communication have been highly important in ensuring that the EU Competition Law becomes the main reference point for the AML. However, the paper argues that it is for the same reasons that EU faces weakness in controlling the reception of EU competition law norms by China. Based on this, the paper further illustrates that EU's understanding of competition law internationalization as reflected under the Dialogue has not undergone fundamental changes.     

从法律适用条款看冲突法对国际格式合同的规制

国际格式合同分为国际示范合同和国际附和合同。随着各国对外民商事交往的发展 ,国际格式合同使用得越来越频繁。尤其是世界贸易组织的建立 ,服务贸易的迅猛发展 ,更是为国际格式合同的使用搭建了广阔平台。分析国际格式合同的法律适用条款 ,旨在冲突法方面规制格式合同 ,保护当事人的合法权益     

Medicare and Medicaid programs; advance directives--HCFA. Final rule

This final rule responds to public comments on the March 6, 1992 interim final rule with comment period that amended the Medicare and Medicaid regulations governing provider agreements and contracts to establish requirements for States, hospitals, nursing facilities, skilled nursing facilities, providers of home health care or personal care services, hospice programs and managed care plans concerning advance directives. An advance directive is a written instruction, such as a living will or durable power of attorney for health care, recognized under State law, relating to the provision of health care when an individual's condition makes him or her unable to express his or her wishes. The intent of the advance directives provisions is to enhance an adult individual's control over medical treatment decisions. This rule confirms the interim final rule with several minor changes based on our review and consideration of public comments.     

社会性别主流化视角下的家政工社会与法律保护分析

随着时代的进步,社会的发展,社会性别主流化日益受到人们的普遍关注。而与此同时,非劳动法上的劳动者——家政工的社会与法律保护问题日益严峻。我国家政服务行业的从业人员大约有1500万,其中96%以上是女性。虽然家政服务业这种灵活多样的就业方式得到政府的支持,有着广阔的发展前景,为许多人提供了就业机会和岗位,但是,这些从业人员却并不是我们通常所说的劳动法上的劳动者,而受到劳动法律规范和相关法律的应有保护。针对现行相关立法的缺漏与不足,社会各界应高度关注并积极应对,更新观念,尽快完善相关立法,制定各种有效、配套的政策与措施。     

The economic costs and consequences of mass communications data retention: is the data retention directive a proportionate measure?

This article seeks to determine the economic costs and consequences of implementing the Data Retention Directive (Directive 2006/24/EC), an extraordinary counter terrorism measure that mandates the a priori retention of communications data on every European citizen, by drawing on the insights of economic analysis. It also explores the monetary costs of the Directive on subscribers and communications service providers of Member States within the EU. Furthermore, it examines the implications of the Directive on the economic sector of the European Union, by focusing on the Directive’s impact on EU competitiveness and other EU policies such as the Lisbon Strategy. This analysis is motivated by the following questions: what are the monetary costs of creating and maintaining the proposed database for data retention? What are the effects of these measures on individuals? What obstacles arise for the global competitiveness of EU telecommunications and electronic communications service providers as a result of these measures? Are other policies in the European Union affected by this measure? If so, which ones?     

Closed Distribution Networks and E-commerce: Antitrust Issues

Closed distribution networks (ie exclusive or selective distribution networks) have to integrate the development of the internet, particularly in sectors such as fine fragrances or new cars sales. Producers (ie Chanel or Volkswagen) cannot ignore that their products are potentially available on the web. Considering the relationships between producers and their off-line dealers, the question is to know if these dealers could be authorized to resell the products on their own website. In each sector, producers have to adapt their distribution contracts for e-commerce. In a previous paper (published in the Journal of Information, Law and Technology , 2000, No 2) we conclude that electronic points of sales must respect criteria used for physical points of sales, but with some adaptations. The major issue for producers is to build legally secured contracts in order to manage both off-line and on-line distribution networks. But the adaptation of traditional distribution contracts cannot ignore the antitrust framework, especially in the European context, since the new Block Exemption Regulation No 2790/99 on Vertical Restraints has been published. Producers' strategies within the European Union must take into account potential competition restraints implied by their contract policy. When drafting their contracts for e-commerce opportunities, producers have to deal with the legal standing of their networks within the European antitrust law. In this paper, our purpose is to analyze implications of the on-line distribution strategy that could be drawn up by a producer from the European competition law viewpoint. We determine opportunities and constraints presented by the Guidelines from a producer's point of view, and we examine whether European competition law does offer any interesting 'room for manoeuvre' for producers who develop closed distribution networks. We also identify what kind of elements could lead to a withdrawal of the benefit of the Block Exemption Regulation No 2790/99; we show that this withdrawal could arise from a market share evaluation, or from the disproportion between competition restraints (stemming from the distribution contract clauses) and the necessity of an economic progress within the European Commission (EC).     

网络服务合同中不平等条款的类型及其法律规制——以虚拟财产权的保护为视角

网络服务合同是确立网络运营商与用户双方权利义务的协议,是用户行使及保护其虚拟财产权的重要依托。实务中由于网络服务合同缺乏完善的法律规范,导致其中存在大量不公平的争议条款,当法律纠纷出现时,严重不利于用户对其虚拟财产权的保护与行使。如何在法律上对网络服务合同进行规制以及在司法实践中如何认定部分争议类型条款的有效性将是保护网络虚拟财产的重中之重。正基于此,在分析网络服务合同与虚拟财产权保护的主要矛盾,探讨网络服务合同中部分争议类型条款之后,对网络服务合同的法律规范提出相关建议。     

联合创新的经济分析及反垄断法规制

联合创新已经成为当今各国广泛运用的技术创新模式。在高科技领域,这种广泛联合的背后具有其经济合理性。联合创新可以提高研发投资的效率、产生较高的社会福利,尽管联合创新也会提高合同执行成本、监督成本并导致信息不对称。同时,从竞争法角度看,联合创新可能限制竞争,但它带来的经济利益可能超过限制竞争的影响。因此,许多国家和地区对联合创新采取宽容甚至激励的态度。我国的高科技企业规模偏小、技术创新能力偏弱,立法应当借鉴其他国家和地区的经验,对联合研发实行广泛的豁免,从而给联合创新提供一个宽松的法律环境。     

The Question Concerning the Common Frame of Reference

The many directives on private consumer law enacted in the last three decades have met with considerable neglect and resistance amongst domestic judges, legislatures and scholars, bringing about less legal unity and more ‘legal fragmentation'—to say it in the words of the Commission. The Draft Common Frame of Reference is one more attempt, on the part of certain strands of European private law scholarship, at imposing a formal break on, and at overcoming, such fragmentation. Presented as a ‘comprehensive and self‐standing’ document, its ambition is to definitively implement the Commission‐generated, market‐orientated agenda of private law reform, so much resisted at the national level. The article argues that the EU legislative institutions should not go ahead with the plan of incorporating the Draft's content in EU law, by adopting a CFR. A CFR would confer an unprecedented degree of authority on a range of contested directive‐generated rules, from the test of fairness to the risk development defence in product liability. In creating a climate in which CFR‐based legalistic arguments promote unity over fragmentation, a CFR would emasculate public debate by implementing, under the spell of legal necessity, exactly those partisan, Commission‐initiated policies that have been, and still are, openly opposed in domestic legal circles. The Draft embodies a grammar of imposition that should be questioned.     

欧盟统一的法定审计制度:挑战与改革

欧盟公司法的统一是不断向前推进的,有关法定审计的第8号公司法指令是欧盟公司法的组成部分.本世纪初在美国及欧盟发生的财务丑闻加快了欧盟强化法定审计独立性及法定审计责任的改革.以公司治理为背景,主要分析了欧盟修订法定审计指令的考量因素、对法定审计独立性的强化措施、有关法定审计的形式选择以及尚未解决的问题,指出欧盟法定审计的改革受到美国《萨班斯法案》以及欧盟成员国内法的影响,而且,这一改革还将持续进行,并且也影响着包括中国在内的其他国家的相关立法.     

Medical data breaches: Notification delayed is notification denied

The EU and the United States have implemented data breach notification rules that cover the health sectors. Nevertheless, data breach incidents involving medical data continue to rise, especially in the US and the UK. The HITECH Act, Pub. L. 111-5 Title XIII is the first federal health breach notification law in the US to be characterized by less government intrusions, while the revised EU Privacy Directive, 2009/136/EC calls for tougher privacy protection for data held by electronic communication providers. While the EU law sets a global de facto standard, the law remains toothless without strong enforcement mechanisms.     

我国应当尽快确立电子商务证据的法律地位

随着电子商务的普及推广,电子商务证据与现行法律规定发生冲突,已在司法实践中显现出来。在我国,这种冲突主要体现在电子商务证据的种类、形式等方面,借鉴世界各国和国际社会的不同做法,我国应对其合法地位作出相应的法律规定,以适应电子商务发展的需要。     

The Norwegian Barents Sea Management Plan and the EC Marine Strategy Directive: Some Political and Legal Challenges with an Ecosystem-Based Approach to the Protection of the European Marine Environment

This article addresses some of the implications of the EU's proposed Marine Strategy Directive for ongoing work in the regional seas conventions and for national work on regional marine strategies. The starting point is the proposed directive's focus on the ecosystem approach to the protection of the marine environment. Key elements within this approach are analysed, such as integration of environmental considerations into other policy areas; introduction of ecological quality objectives; and establishment of holistic monitoring and assessment programmes. Is it possible to transform these concepts into legally binding obligations? What will the implications of the proposed directive be for the rights and obligations of EU Member States under international law? A Management Plan for the Norwegian Part of the Barents Sea ('Barents Plan') was adopted by the Norwegian Government in March 2006 and approved by the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) in June 2006. It provides an example of a concrete application of the concepts in the proposed directive. Based on an analysis of the proposed Marine Strategy Directive and the Barents Plan, some key political and legal challenges are discussed in this article.     

The Delta Dental case: "Fair procedure" comes to managed care. Delta Dental Plan of California v. Banasky

All providers contemplating managed care contracts, both individual and institutional, should carefully review the health plans' internal administrative review and dispute resolution procedures before making their decisions, especially if the contracts will represent significant income for the provider. While there may be judicial recourse in California and in other states that adopt the holding in Delta Dental, in other states providers may well be held to the health plans' internal administrative decisions as a matter of contractual agreement. Health plans should also review their own policies and procedures for adequacy under applicable state law. The health care community will not know the full extent of Delta Dental's implications until later cases area decided, but for now it seems certain that another wave of change in this area is just beginning.     

欧盟电子废弃物指令适用范围探析

欧盟的电子废弃物指令(包括WEEE指令和RoHS指令)是目前影响范围最广、适用电子电气设备种类最多的电子废弃物管理法,不论从对欧贸易的角度来说,还是从我国自身立法的角度来看,都应对其认真研究.目前,国内对这两个指令的研究已经展开,但是对其适用范围尚缺乏系统深入的探究,本文准备弥补这一空白.