On the Pre-Contractual Information Duty in the Field of Electronic Commerce: a Comparative Analysis of EU and Chinese Law
On the Pre-Contractual Information Duty in the Field of Electronic Commerce: a Comparative Analysis of EU and Chinese Law

Author(s): Zhibo Luan
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, ICT Information and Communications Technologies, Commercial Law
Published by: Правни факултет Универзитета у Источном Сарајеву
Keywords: Pre-contractual information duty; Directive on electronic commerce of EU; Electronic Commerce Law of China; Electronic commerce;
Summary/Abstract: The pre-contractual information duty of electronic commerce contract is quite distinctively stipulated in different legal systems. In the European Union, according to the Directive 2000/31/EC, the Directive on Electronic Commerce, a large amount of necessary information of three levels is required to be published or provided to the receivers of information society services. In the process of incorporating of this Directive, Italy, France and Germany followed distinct paths and even designed distinct rules. Apart from the rules related to the Directive, the civil codes of member states stipulate a general pre-contractual information duty towards the conclusion of every single contract, while the consumer protection laws, or the codes of consumption, regulate this duty at the scene of contracting with consumers. On the contrary, in China, the Electronic Commerce Law dispersed the normative group of that duty in several sections but in less detail. Furthermore, the Civil Code and the Consumer Protection Law have established a number of universal rules. The administrative measures and judicial decisions act as an indispensable supplement, completing the normative system about that duty and reflecting a rather unique thought of regulation in the field of e-commerce.

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