ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the extent to which initiatives in the field of International Commercial Law have been adopted in response to the rise of the digital economy, and highlights where further challenges might arise in the near future. The wide-spread utilisation of digital technology and the emergence of novel ways of engaging in commercial activity in the digital environment have prompted concerns about the suitability of existing legal regimes for the digital economy. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce was adopted at a point in time when wide-spread e-commerce was only about to take off. The E-Commerce Model Law was the first UNCITRAL measure which developed criteria for the functional equivalence of key form requirements, i.e., a requirement that a communication had to be in writing, signed or available in an original form.
