Strengthening ICT Law Regime to facilitate E-Commerce and M-Commerce Transactions: A Sri Lankan Perspective

Abstract

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a vital role in our everyday lives. Particularly, it makes regular business transactions easy and fast in globalized information society. Accordingly, traditional commerce conducted on paper-based medium has been transferred into Electronic Commerce and Mobile Commerce which takes place over electronic medium (i.e. Internet). Therefore, information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven with development information and mobile phone technology. More alarmingly, Internet can be used to commit cyber crimes and offences relating to e-commerce or mcommerce. Under Sri Lanka���??s current legal regime, there are several pieces of legislation recently passed by Parliament to mitigate risks and issues regarding ICT. Yet, serious doubts as to effectiveness of ICT legal regime remain. Especially, there are several practical difficulties in implementation of law relating to eCommerce and m-Commerce. This research���??s primary objective is to explore practical difficulties in implementation of ICT legal framework with special focus on e-Commerce and m-Commerce. It also aims to examine ways and means of further strengthening existing legal regime while incorporating international standards to harmonize ICT legal framework in line with more advance jurisdictions. Study is based on primary and secondary sources i.e. statues, case law, text books, journals and electronic data bases. Analysis of selected jurisdictions has been carried out to have glimpse of comparative jurisprudence. To address above challenges, ICT-related legislation in Sri Lanka should be interpreted incorporating international standards and best practices followed in other advanced jurisdictions. Undoubtedly, prevailing ICT law has to go a long way to inculcate well-developed ICT legal framework in Sri Lanka. Unsurprisingly, our legal system and judiciary are helpless in terms of novel cyber issues.