Trading with the Consumer in the Digital Age

Legal Developments, Current Challenges and the Road Ahead

20 June 2017 (09:00 – 17:00), Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth University, Room 702

Digital trade has become a vital part of today’s world economy as a growing number of transactions are conducted online and through different means of communications technology. The consumer has been at the forefront of the growing digital economy as B2C e-commerce transactions have gained significant momentum. This growth has also meant that different technological advancements are continuously taking place to simplify different day-to-day transactions conducted by the consumer.

In this light, CIPPM is organising a workshop to discuss the different legal issues, both current and future, that affect the consumer in the context of digital trade and e-commerce transactions. The workshop looks to discuss legal issues and developments relating to the sale of digital content, digital and smart contracting, consumer data privacy, online dispute resolution (ODR) and other related areas. The event aims to discuss the possibilities in dealing with these legal issues and suggestions to introducing necessary regulations that would help reinforce the consumer’s trust in an ever evolving digital trading space.

>> For more information and to reserve a place, please contact Dr Sara Hourani.

Programme

9.00 – 9.30 — Registration and Morning Coffee

9.30 – 9.45 — Welcome address

  • Professor Maurizio Borghi, Professor in Law & CIPPM Director, Bournemouth University
  • Dr Sara Hourani, Lecturer in Law & CIPPM Research Associate, Bournemouth University

9.45-11.10 — Panel 1: Recent Developments in the Digital Economy and its Legal Implications on the Consumer

Chair: Youseph Farah

  • Professor Eva Micheler, Associate Professor in Law, LSE: Holding, Clearing and Settling Securities Through Blockchain Technology Creating an Efficient System by Empowering Asset Owners
  • Dr Uta Kohl, Senior Lecturer in Law, Aberystwyth University: The Sharing Economy versus Consumer Protection?
  • Dr Argyro Karanasiou, Senior Lecturer in Law & CIPPM Research Associate, Bournemouth University: tbc

11.00-11.15 — Coffee Break

11.15-12.30 — Panel 2: From ADR to ODR

Chair: Sara Hourani

  • Dr Youseph Farah, Senior Lecturer in Law, UEA: tbc
  • Professor Sophia Tang, Professor of Law & Commerce, Newcastle University: Consumers’ Access to Justice in Cross-border E-commerce
  • Professor Pablo Cortes, Professor of Civil Justice, University of Leicester: Will the Online Court Increase the Consumer Redress Options?

12.30-13.30 — Lunch Break

13.30-14.20 — Panel 3: Further Developments in ODR

Chair: Leonardo Valladares

  • Barrister Amel Ketani, Senior Lecturer in Law, BPP and PhD Candidate, University of Surrey: Online Dispute Resolution in the consumer context: legal developments
  • Dr Sara Hourani, Lecturer in Law & CIPPM Research Associate, Bournemouth University: An Automated Enforcement of ODR Outcomes: A Solution for Boosting Consumers’ Rights for the Proposed UK ‘Online Court’?

14.20-14.30 — Break

14.30-15.45 — Panel 4: The Impact of Technology on Fundamental Principles of Consumer Law

Chair: Maurizio Borghi

  • Michaela MacDonald, PhD Candidate, Queen Mary University of London: Consumers and Digital Assets – The Dichotomy Between Ownership and Access, Goods and Services
  • Dr Christine Riefa, Reader, Brunel University London: Is the internationalisation of consumer law, the solution to protecting digital consumers?
  • Dr Leonardo Valladares Pacheco de Oliveira, Senior Lecturer, Anglia Ruskin University: Is the definition of consumer in different jurisdictions a problem for cross-border consumer contracts?

15.45-16.00 — Concluding Remarks