ABSTRACT
Digital commerce has transformed the marketplace for all goods and services. Lawyers regard the law as a means to regulate social relations while sociologists see the law as a part of social systems. The emergence of modern law and its convergence with the formation of capitalism has been driven by economics and both legal and urban forms of social relations. Devices such as customer reviews, reputation ratings, chat bots and automated dispute resolution stand in place of word-of-mouth recommendations, human interaction, call centres, help desks and courts that featured for so long in physical marketplaces. Social relationships and the legal institutions that underpin those relationships in business have been completely revolutionised by the Internet and e-commerce. Trust in networks and platforms require an understanding of not just contract formation, but also contractual relationships, and the features of these systems that make them sustainable.
