Internet: Which court decides? Which law applies?

Book abstract:

In the last few years, much has been written on the legal aspects of the new virtual reality. In most of these publications and also at different conferences the private international law aspects have not yet been dealt with as the main subject. This new work aims to address two basic questions, namely, which court has jurisdiction and which law is to be applied when litigation arises from activity on the Internet?

The book comprises seven key papers, in English or French, presented by distinguished lawyers at the international colloquium organised by Utrecht University's Molengraff Institute of Private Law and the Hague conference on Private International Law, which was held in Utrecht in June 1997. The main topics include; the role of law in cyberspace; experiences in the field of intellectual property; whether private international law can provide order to the chaos; and problems concerning jurisdiction and applicable law.

This book answers some important questions by taking a closer look at the conflict aspects of the digital revolution, by thinking about solutions and providing an answer for the users of the Internet and also for those who have to decide a dispute arising from the use of the Internet.

This volume, as well as the colloquium organised by Utrecht University's Molengraff Institute of Private Law is dedicated to Michel Pelichet who proposed the Internet as a potential subject for an international convention to be drafted under the auspices of the major international organisations charged with the unification of private law.