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UNCTAD and ASEAN review harmonization of e-commerce laws

02 November 2012

Senior South-east Asian policymakers will assess cyber-legislation and make recommendations to further the harmonization of e-commerce laws at a joint ASEAN/UNCTAD workshop in Cebu, the Philippines, on 10 and 11 November 2012.  The outcome will be reported to the twelfth ASEAN Telecommunications Senior Officials Meeting.

The rise of the Internet and other electronic systems is rapidly making e-commerce a core part of how enterprises, governments and citizens interact.  While Asia has some of the world’s fastest-growing e-commerce markets, the potential is still far from fully explored. Having adequate legal and regulatory frameworks in place is one key factor to spur a greater uptake of e-commerce.

A decade ago, the Association of South east Asian Nations (ASEAN) (1) was the first region in the developing world to adopt a harmonized legal framework for e-commerce. On 10-11 November 2012, a joint ASEAN/UNCTAD workshop will held in Cebu, the Philippines, to review and take stock of progress and challenges in implementing such laws in the region.

The workshop will bring together senior policymakers from the ten ASEAN countries to discuss and prepare recommendations on how to foster the enforcement of harmonized laws, with a view to boosting cross-border trade across Southeast Asia.  Delegates will consider new legal and regulatory issues arising from evolving technologies and applications, such as cloud computing and mobile commerce, as well as data protection, authentication, information security, cybercrime, and other priority areas.(2)

The discussions and the outcome of the workshop will be reported to the twelfth ASEAN Telecommunications Senior Officials Meeting (TELSOM), which begins in Cebu on 12 November. The recommendations will seek to support the implementation of the ASEAN ICT Masterplan 2015, and the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.  They will also serve as an input to UNCTAD’s Review of E-Commerce Laws Harmonization in ASEAN scheduled for publication in 2013.

The findings of two recent ASEAN/UNCTAD surveys of both governments and the private sector in ASEAN countries, on the existing legal frameworks for e-commerce activities, will also be presented during the workshop. 

The workshop is hosted and supported by the Government of the Philippines, and will include participation by key players in international e-commerce law, such as the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).  

In ASEAN, UNCTAD has been supporting the Governments of Cambodia and of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to build capacity and prepare for their e-commerce laws. UNCTAD’s flagship Information Economy Report 2007/2008, highlighted the experience of the ASEAN region in establishing a regional framework for the harmonization of e-commerce laws.(3)

UNCTAD’s E-commerce and Law Reform work programme is housed in the ICT Analysis Section of the Division on Technology and Logistics. It is funded by the Government of Finland. 

For more information, please contact Cécile Barayre, Economic Affairs Officer, ICT Analysis Section, at the Science, Technology and ICT Branch of UNCTAD’s Division on Technology and Logistics; Cecile.barayre@unctad.org, tel. +41 22 917 53 69.

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(2)  ASEAN E-Commerce Database Project, November 2010 (DTI/ASEAN/TELSOM/01
(3)  The study titled “ Harmonizing cyber legislation at the regional level: The case of the ASEAN” was published in the UNCTAD Information Economy Report 2007/2008 and prepared in cooperation with Galexia.