There is a fear, however, that longstanding legal provisions have uncertain meaning in the digital age, and that this may undermine confidence in e-commerce and thereby hamper its uptake. This article examines recent moves by the Commonwealth Government to address these uncertainties, and places them in their international context. Governments are conducting initiatives to stimulate public awareness, and to encourage SMEs to improve their use of information technology. Many of today's trading and settlement practices can be traced back to the heyday of the Venetian and even Phoenician economies, and most of the remainder to Victorian Britain. In a rapidly changing context, the legal framework within which business is conducted is being argued by some to be an impediment to change.
Business involves communications among various parties.
The law afford rights to those parties. For example, if one party indulges in negligent or fraudulent misrepresentation, breaches a confidence, abuses the terms of a copyright licence, or fails to comply with an express or implied term of contract, then the affected party can sue. In order to win their case, the aggrieved party needs to provide evidence that is acceptable to the court. Nowhere is this orderliness more important than in the formation of contracts. Important, long-term contracts must be evidenced 'in writing'.