Jurisdiction in Cyberspace.  Does the CISG ‘Manage’ the Global Communication Medium?

Dr Bruno Zeller*

This article is associated with the conference hosted by the Vienna International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (VIAC) and the Moot Alumni Association, ‘Electronic Commerce and its Growing Importance in Law and Business’ which was held in Vienna, Austria on 22 March 2002.

Dr Bruno Zeller examines the complex issue of jurisdiction in cyberspace, and the way in which the CISG principles can be applied to assist in finding a geographical space for a dispute which has no relation to a defined physical area.  In ‘Jurisdiction in Cyberspace, Does the CISG “Manage” the Global Communication Medium?’, he considers both the new Brussels Regulations and the Hague Conference on Private International Law, together with US Court decisions, to draw out applicable principles which may identify an appropriate forum for the determination of these ‘floating’ disputes.

*    Lecturer of Law, Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.