Course content - Learning outcome - Admission - Prerequisites - Overlapping courses - Teaching - Examination - Evaluation - Other

Course content

The growth and widespread use of the Internet has spurred the development of electronic commerce. People are buying and selling goods and services online, either directly or with the help of agents, including electronic agents. Firms are increasingly doing business online and new forms of commercial co-operation are emerging. These transactions have or may bring about legal consequences for the parties involved as well as third parties, such as online intermediaries.

The course concentrates on European Union (EU) legal instruments and policy to regulate different aspects of electronic commerce, covering both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. Where appropriate, reference is made to the legal position in countries outside the EU such as the United States, for comparative purposes. Special attention is paid to legal issues concerning online contracting (e.g., the use of electronic agents), transactional security (e.g., use of electronic signatures), electronic payment systems, and liability of online intermediaries. The course also examines relevant private international law issues (i.e., determining jurisdiction in “cyberspace”, along with the proper law of online contracts and proper law of torts).

The themes taken up in the course may be summed up with the following key words: electronic commerce, electronic contracting, web contracting, electronic agents, virtual enterprises, virtual organisations, intermediary liability, encryption, digital signatures, private international law, cyberspace jurisdiction, applicable law.

Learning outcome

The primary aim of the course is to identify and discuss the principal legal issues that emerge from commercial Internet transactions. These matters include the formation of electronic and web contracts, the creation of virtual enterprises, intermediary liability, and the requirement for system and transactional security. The course further seeks to analyse key private international law questions that arise from the international and relatively borderless nature of e-commerce.

A further aim of the course is not just to provide knowledge of the relevant legal rules as they currently stand but also to encourage critical appraisal of them. This involves analysing and challenging the assumptions upon which the rules are based, and discussion of alternative regulatory possibilities.

Admission

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You may register for this course if you have admission to a Master’s programme at UiO or the faculty's exchange programme. You can also register for this course if you do not have admission to any programme at UiO, but meet the formal prerequistites.

All students are required meet the formal prerequistites.

Have you met the formal prerequisites at another institution than the University of Oslo, and the results are not formally registered at UiO, you must apply for admission to courses at Master’s level . Students with admission to Master’s degree programmes at other faculties than The Faculty of Law must also apply for admission.

When your admission is in order you must register for courses in StudentWeb

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Prerequisites

Formal prerequisite knowledge

Students must fill one of these requirements:

• Passed 1st - 3rd year of studies in Master's of Law (masterstudiet i rettsvitenskap at UiO) or examinations that qualify for exemption from these) or
• Having a 5-years Master’s degree in Laws (masterstudiet i rettsvitenskap at UiO) or equivalent.

Students with admission to the faculty’s exchange programme and students with admission to any master’s degree programme at the University of Oslo (except masterstudiet i rettsvitenskap) has an exemption from the formal prerequisites.

Overlapping courses

10 credits overlap with ICTLECOMM - E-Commerce Law (discontinued).

Teaching

Lectures/seminars, 20 hours

Language of teaching for this course is English. This means that all
communication during lectures/seminars will be in English, and all
literature and auxiliary materials are in English.

Access to teaching

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

Examination

Exam consists of two parts: a mid-term paper and a 4-hour written examination.

Students who fail or do not deliver the mid-term essay will not be allowed to deliver the final assignment.

In case of retake, a candidate must retake both examinations, even if the candidate has successfully passed one of the examinations.

Please note that if a student wish to file an appeal in only one of the examinations, both examinations will automatically undergo a regrading.

Use of sources and rules for citing.

Be sure that you are familiar with the use of sources and the rules for citing/quoting from others’ work
UiO uses a plagiarism checking tool as one of several instruments for detecting suspicion of cheating and attempted cheating.

Examination support material

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Regulations for support materials permitted at examination for courses taught in English . Please read all three chapters.

Language of examination

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The language of examination for this course is English. This means
that the examination question will be given in English, and students
may answer in English only.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

The mid-term paper will account for 30% of the grade, while the written examination will account for 70%.

Explanations and appeals

You may request an explanation of your grades, and you may also appeal against your grades or make a complaint about formal examination errors. Read more about explanations and appeals.

Resit an examination

You can usually resit an exam, but the conditions depend on whether you had a valid reason for absence from the regular exam. Read more about resitting an exam.

Withdrawal from an examination

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Special examination arrangements

If you have a disability or a health problem that entails significant inconvenience in an examination situation, you may be considered for special examination arrangements. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.

Evaluation

Feedback from our students is essential to us in our efforts to ensure and further improve the high quality of our programmes and courses. All courses are subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students on a particular course to participate in a more comprehensive, periodic evaluation of this course.

Other

The language for this course is English. Students enrolled in the
Masterprogrammet i rettsvitenskap must pass one
English subject as part of their degree, this course will meet these
obligations.