Ecommerce hit by legislative wrangles

European Parliament members this week kicked out a Tory amendment of draft legislation that would have been beneficial to online commerce.

Disputes between consumers and internet retailers are currently tackled in the consumers' jurisdictions - a problematic system for many e-tailers. The rejected proposal would have put online disputes under the retailer's local law.

Tory MEP Lord Inglewood said his proposed amendment would have obliged ecommerce sites to put disclaimers on their websites informing customers that they are under the retail laws of another country. He said this would have benefited retailers by putting them under the control of just one country's law.

But the amended legislation was rejected by Labour MEPs and others including Liberal Democrat MEP Diana Wallis, who drafted the legislation. The draft legislation is part of the rewriting of the Brussels Convention on cross-country trading to take ecommerce into account.

Mike Pullen, a lawyer at Dibb Lupton Alsop, said: "On the one hand there's all this talk from Labour of a brave new world and ecommerce opening up the market. On the other hand there's the Brussels regulation that completely contradicts this and hampers dot com start-ups trying to operate across borders in Europe."

Lord Inglewood said: "Ecommerce is a big thing of the future, and it is important we get the regime right." He said killing the amendment "discourages the development of ecommerce that all heads of state are in favour of".

"I am not depressed. We are still fighting and will continue to battle," he added.

A Department of Trade and Industry spokesman said that the Brussels Convention is about to be updated and a consultation paper to be released next month will give the opportunity to explore what needs to be done.

"What we need is a sensible system in place for sorting out problems across nations," he said.

He added: "The real answer for e-consumers and ebusiness lies in an efficient low cost alternative dispute resolution such as arbitration through an ombudsman, or an online method. The consultation on the Convention will help get a common sense approach."