O objetivo desta dissertação é a análise das implicações jurídicas decorrentes da utilização da rede mundial de computadores, como meio de realização de transações comerciais. Ela tem como principais temas a contratação de consumo via Internet, seus desafios, oportunidades, formas de regulação, prevenção e controle de práticas abusivas. Adotando uma perspectiva histórica, mostra-se que, a humanidade vive hoje a revolução da tecnologia da informação. Um dos instrumentos mais inovadores da era informacional é a Internet, que vem proporcionando o desenvolvimento de uma especial forma de realizar negócios: o comércio eletrônico. Aqui são analisados a complexidade e os desafios próprios da contratação de consumo virtual. Dentre eles, ressaltam-se a despersonalização extrema do contrato, as assimetrias informacional e técnica, a desmaterialização do meio de realização do acordo, do instrumento, do objeto (em alguns casos) e dos vícios contratuais, a desterritorialização e a internacionalidade eventual da contratação eletrônica e, por fim, a ausência de regulamentação legal própria à defesa dos ciberconsumidores. Esse é o pano de fundo da acentuada vulnerabilidade dessa nova figura, a parte leiga na relação de consumo via Internet, que para muitos tem seus mistérios, defrontando-se com fornecedores e profissionais que têm pleno domínio sobre o próprio meio virtual, sobre as informações do produto ou serviço que oferecem. A Internet não equaliza, ao contrário, amplifica os desequilíbrios de informação e de poder de barganha. Assim, é inevitável o surgimento de problemas específicos do comércio online, bem como a intensificação de outros, em particular práticas comerciais desleais e enganosas. Na ausência de regulamentação legal específica, há necessidade de regulação do comércio eletrônico de consumo por meio de princípios jurídicos. O princípio da boa-fé objetiva é considerado o meio hábil para conduzir à solução de crescente número de conflitos de interesses no âmbito das relações de consumo eletrônicas. Por sua especial flexibilidade e amplo campo de incidência, atribui-se a esse princípio a função de assegurar a completude do ordenamento jurídico, tornando-se o instrumento apto a solucionar conflitos havidos na contratação eletrônica de consumo. / This thesis is mostly aimed at analyzing legal implications arising from the use of World Wide Web as a way of doing commercial transactions. Namely, its challenges, opportunities, forms of regulation, prevention and control of abusive practices. Adopting a historical perspective, it is shown that humanity is now living the revolution of information technology in which the Internet plays an important role as the way of doing electronic commerce. It is firstly enphasized the complexity and challenges of the virtual consumption. Then, a set of related questions is analyzed, that is to say: the extreme depersonalization of the contract, technical and informational asymmetries, the dematerialization of the means of concluding the agreement, the instrument, the object (in some cases) and contracts vices, the deterritorialization and the occasional internationality of electronic contracting and, finally, the absence of legal regulation to protect the cyberconsumer. This is the background behind the intensification of cyberconsumers vulnerability. He is the lay party in the consumption relationship via the Internet, which for many has its mysteries, faced with suppliers and professionals who have full control over their own virtual environment, the information about the product or service. The Internet does not equalize, on the contrary, amplifies the imbalances of information and of bargaining power. Thus, in the online commerce the emergence of specifics problems is inevitable, as well as the intensification of others, particularly unfair and deceptive trade practices. In the absence of specific statutory/legal regulation, electronic commerce needs to be regulated with the help of legal principles. The principle of objective good faith is considered the skillful tool to lead to the solution of an increasing number of conflicts of interest in electronic marketplace. Due to its special flexibility and wide field of incidence it is attributed to that principle the function of ensuring the completeness of the legal system, becoming the most able instrument to solve conflicts accruing from the electronic consumer hiring.

O objetivo desta dissertação é a análise das implicações jurídicas decorrentes da utilização da rede mundial de computadores, como meio de realização de transações comerciais. Ela tem como principais temas a contratação de consumo via Internet, seus desafios, oportunidades, formas de regulação, prevenção e controle de práticas abusivas. Adotando uma perspectiva histórica, mostra-se que, a humanidade vive hoje a revolução da tecnologia da informação. Um dos instrumentos mais inovadores da era informacional é a Internet, que vem proporcionando o desenvolvimento de uma especial forma de realizar negócios: o comércio eletrônico. Aqui são analisados a complexidade e os desafios próprios da contratação de consumo virtual. Dentre eles, ressaltam-se a despersonalização extrema do contrato, as assimetrias informacional e técnica, a desmaterialização do meio de realização do acordo, do instrumento, do objeto (em alguns casos) e dos vícios contratuais, a desterritorialização e a internacionalidade eventual da contratação eletrônica e, por fim, a ausência de regulamentação legal própria à defesa dos ciberconsumidores. Esse é o pano de fundo da acentuada vulnerabilidade dessa nova figura, a parte leiga na relação de consumo via Internet, que para muitos tem seus mistérios, defrontando-se com fornecedores e profissionais que têm pleno domínio sobre o próprio meio virtual, sobre as informações do produto ou serviço que oferecem. A Internet não equaliza, ao contrário, amplifica os desequilíbrios de informação e de poder de barganha. Assim, é inevitável o surgimento de problemas específicos do comércio online, bem como a intensificação de outros, em particular práticas comerciais desleais e enganosas. Na ausência de regulamentação legal específica, há necessidade de regulação do comércio eletrônico de consumo por meio de princípios jurídicos. O princípio da boa-fé objetiva é considerado o meio hábil para conduzir à solução de crescente número de conflitos de interesses no âmbito das relações de consumo eletrônicas. Por sua especial flexibilidade e amplo campo de incidência, atribui-se a esse princípio a função de assegurar a completude do ordenamento jurídico, tornando-se o instrumento apto a solucionar conflitos havidos na contratação eletrônica de consumo. / This thesis is mostly aimed at analyzing legal implications arising from the use of World Wide Web as a way of doing commercial transactions. Namely, its challenges, opportunities, forms of regulation, prevention and control of abusive practices. Adopting a historical perspective, it is shown that humanity is now living the revolution of information technology in which the Internet plays an important role as the way of doing electronic commerce. It is firstly enphasized the complexity and challenges of the virtual consumption. Then, a set of related questions is analyzed, that is to say: the extreme depersonalization of the contract, technical and informational asymmetries, the dematerialization of the means of concluding the agreement, the instrument, the object (in some cases) and contracts vices, the deterritorialization and the occasional internationality of electronic contracting and, finally, the absence of legal regulation to protect the cyberconsumer. This is the background behind the intensification of cyberconsumers vulnerability. He is the lay party in the consumption relationship via the Internet, which for many has its mysteries, faced with suppliers and professionals who have full control over their own virtual environment, the information about the product or service. The Internet does not equalize, on the contrary, amplifies the imbalances of information and of bargaining power. Thus, in the online commerce the emergence of specifics problems is inevitable, as well as the intensification of others, particularly unfair and deceptive trade practices. In the absence of specific statutory/legal regulation, electronic commerce needs to be regulated with the help of legal principles. The principle of objective good faith is considered the skillful tool to lead to the solution of an increasing number of conflicts of interest in electronic marketplace. Due to its special flexibility and wide field of incidence it is attributed to that principle the function of ensuring the completeness of the legal system, becoming the most able instrument to solve conflicts accruing from the electronic consumer hiring.

Avec le développement exponentiel de l'Internet et son corollaire l'expansion du commerce en ligne, le sort de la protection du cyberconsommateur devient un sujet préoccupant en ce 21ième siècle. En effet, dans ce monde virtuel où l'on emploie des méthodes et technologies nouvelles et plus encore des clauses abusives dans les contrats unilatéraux, s'installe indubitablement un sentiment de méfiance entre le cyberconsommateur et le cybercommerçant. Pour rétablir cette confiance et favoriser le commerce par Internet, des lois nationales, internationales et des normes communautaires ont été adoptées aux fins de l'encadrement rigoureux du processus contractuel. Toutefois, en raison de la présence fréquente d'éléments d'extranéité dans les contrats de consommation en ligne, la question fondamentale qui vient tout naturellement à l'esprit de tous ceux qui entreprennent des études aujourd'hui, en la matière, est celle de savoir si les règles classiques de droit international privé sont dépassées par le développement trop rapide de ce type de commerce ou si au contraire elles y sont adaptées. On pourrait en outre se demander si l'encadrement juridique offert au cyberconsommateur est à même de lui procurer le même niveau de protection dont il bénéficie dans le commerce traditionnel. La présente étude tente d'apporter certains éléments de réponse en analysant dans un premier temps, le droit substantiel interne de protection du consommateur dans les systèmes juridiques européen, français, canadien et québécois en vu de scruter des zones de conflits susceptibles d'exister dans le cycle de vie de ce contrat. Dans la seconde partie, elle démontre que les méthodes classiques de résolution des conflits de juridiction et des conflits de lois en droit international privé, bien que nécessitant des adaptations, sont effectivement applicables au contexte de l'internet et ce, dans l'objectif privilégié de la protection du cyberconsommateur. Le bilan de l'analyse et de l'appréciation des critères de ces règles de conflits nous conduiront à l'examen des nouvelles mesures qui s'imposent. / With the exponential development of the Internet and the consequent expansion of online commerce, the fate of cyberconsumer protection has become a topic of increasing concern in the 21st century. In fact, in a virtual world where new methods and technologies are used-as are abusive clauses in unilaterally drafted contracts-a feeling of mistrust between cyberconsumer and cybermerchant is certainly setting in. National and international laws and community norms have been adopted in order to rigorously control the contractual process and to thereby re-establish consumer confidence and further Internet commerce. However, due to the frequent presence of foreign elements in on-line commercial contracts, the fundamental question which naturally arises for those who are studying the subject is whether the classic rules of private international law have become outdated by the incredibly rapid development of this type of commerce, or whether such laws are in fact adapted. One can also question whether the legal framework offered to the cyberconsumer is able to procure the same level of protection that a consumer would benefit from in cases of traditional commerce. This study aims to present certain elements of a response, first, by analyzing substantive internal law in the realm of consumer protection in the European, French, Canadian and Quebec legal systems, in order to examine areas of conflict that are likely to exist during the lifespan of this sort of contract. In the second part, this study demonstrates that the classic methods of resolving conflicts of jurisdiction and conflicts of law in private international law, while requiring certain adaptations, can nevertheless be effectively applied to the context of the Internet with the objective of protecting cyberconsumers. The results of this analysis and evaluation of the private international rules of conflict then lead to an assessment of the new measures that are required.

Le commerce électronique n'est plus un simple support promotionnel de la distribution des biens de consommation: il s'apparente de plus en plus à un marché parallèle à la distribution classique. Cependant, quel que soit le schéma emprunté, les rapports humains suscitent inévitablement des conflits et le commerce électronique ne fait pas exception à la règle. Ce nouveau vecteur n'a pas pour seule vertu le rapprochement des individus; de la même façon qu'il a affecté nos relations, il a eu un impact sur les litiges eux-mêmes. Le contexte particulier dans lequel s'inscrivent les transactions privées sur Internet, ont pour conséquence des litiges portant sur de faibles sommes d'argent et qui sont qui plus est - conditionnés par certains aspects techniques ou certaines particularités du monde en ligne. A cela s'ajoute une dimension internationale qui accentue encore la complexité du règlement des litiges, dans la mesure où elle implique pour les parties de délicates délibérations sur la question du forum et du droit applicable. La dispersion des parties ne facilite pas l'exercice de l'action en justice. Aussi l'arbitrage en ligne a-t-il pour ambition éthérée d'éluder la voie judiciaire et, plus encore, la voie judiciaire à l'étranger. La Toile, par la multitude de possibilités qu'elle offre, perturbe autant les repères de la justice classique qu'elle ne lui apporte des solutions jusqu'alors inexplorées. Par un recoupement de leurs caractéristiques, l'arbitrage fait ainsi écho au commerce électronique. En d'autres termes la gestion de la procédure arbitrale se fera à distance. Une attention toute particulière doit être accordée aux spécificités d'Internet et à l'impact que ce contexte particulier peut avoir sur le cadre traditionnel de l'arbitrage. La transition vers le monde virtuel ne se fait donc pas sans heurts. Si l'arbitrage en ligne est techniquement praticable, juridiquement il soulève nombre de questions. L'arbitrage classique exige de nombreuses conditions de fonds et de v fonnes que l'arbitrage en ligne par sa nature même ne peut totalement satisfaire. Malgré cette évidence, le droit, dans un souci de perfection et de maniabilité toujours plus poussé, tend peu à peu à passer outre cet écueil. Voilà ce à quoi nous essaierons de répondre modestement au travers cet exposé. / E-Commerce is no longer a channel in support of the standard fonu of trading consumption goods. It has become an alternative trading market for those consumption goods. However, whether trade takes place through e-trading or more traditional ways, human relationships are likely to entail conflicts. As a new fonu of trading, e-commerce fostered and strengthened the relationships between individuals, inc1uding lawsuits. Nonetheless, the types of lawsuits related to e-commerce differ from those related to the standard trade in several ways. For example, lawsuits related to etrading often involve relatively limited amounts of money because of the particular context in which trade takes place through the internet or some technical aspects of it. In addition, the international dimension of the trade further complicates the settlement of litigation since it implies sensitive deliberations about the place ofjurisdiction and the applicable law. In this case, the difficulty in conducting the legal practice is exacerbated by the fact that parties are far apart. Consequently, online arbitration has the noble goal of eluding the legal process, especially abroad. The World Wide Web, through its numerous possibilities, raises questions on the references of the c1assical justice and proposes solutions in ways that so far were unexplored. Since they share many of the same characteristics, on-line arbitration is similar to e-trading-that is, the on-line arbitration process is made from distance. Overall, a very particular attention must be paid to the specificities of the Internet and to its possible effects on the traditional arbitration framework. For the arbitration, the transition of trade toward the electronic world has created lots of vii difficulties. While online arbitration is technically practicable, it raises many legal issues. Online arbitration cannot totally fulfill the numerous conditions of content and fonn that standard arbitration requires. Nevertheless, the Law, with its growing concern for perfection and adaptability, is progressively overcoming this difficulty. Those are the issue that we will try to address in this study. / "Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maîtrise en droit (LLM)"

Avec le développement exponentiel de l'Internet et son corollaire l'expansion du commerce en ligne, le sort de la protection du cyberconsommateur devient un sujet préoccupant en ce 21ième siècle. En effet, dans ce monde virtuel où l'on emploie des méthodes et technologies nouvelles et plus encore des clauses abusives dans les contrats unilatéraux, s'installe indubitablement un sentiment de méfiance entre le cyberconsommateur et le cybercommerçant. Pour rétablir cette confiance et favoriser le commerce par Internet, des lois nationales, internationales et des normes communautaires ont été adoptées aux fins de l'encadrement rigoureux du processus contractuel. Toutefois, en raison de la présence fréquente d'éléments d'extranéité dans les contrats de consommation en ligne, la question fondamentale qui vient tout naturellement à l'esprit de tous ceux qui entreprennent des études aujourd'hui, en la matière, est celle de savoir si les règles classiques de droit international privé sont dépassées par le développement trop rapide de ce type de commerce ou si au contraire elles y sont adaptées. On pourrait en outre se demander si l'encadrement juridique offert au cyberconsommateur est à même de lui procurer le même niveau de protection dont il bénéficie dans le commerce traditionnel. La présente étude tente d'apporter certains éléments de réponse en analysant dans un premier temps, le droit substantiel interne de protection du consommateur dans les systèmes juridiques européen, français, canadien et québécois en vu de scruter des zones de conflits susceptibles d'exister dans le cycle de vie de ce contrat. Dans la seconde partie, elle démontre que les méthodes classiques de résolution des conflits de juridiction et des conflits de lois en droit international privé, bien que nécessitant des adaptations, sont effectivement applicables au contexte de l'internet et ce, dans l'objectif privilégié de la protection du cyberconsommateur. Le bilan de l'analyse et de l'appréciation des critères de ces règles de conflits nous conduiront à l'examen des nouvelles mesures qui s'imposent. / With the exponential development of the Internet and the consequent expansion of online commerce, the fate of cyberconsumer protection has become a topic of increasing concern in the 21st century. In fact, in a virtual world where new methods and technologies are used-as are abusive clauses in unilaterally drafted contracts-a feeling of mistrust between cyberconsumer and cybermerchant is certainly setting in. National and international laws and community norms have been adopted in order to rigorously control the contractual process and to thereby re-establish consumer confidence and further Internet commerce. However, due to the frequent presence of foreign elements in on-line commercial contracts, the fundamental question which naturally arises for those who are studying the subject is whether the classic rules of private international law have become outdated by the incredibly rapid development of this type of commerce, or whether such laws are in fact adapted. One can also question whether the legal framework offered to the cyberconsumer is able to procure the same level of protection that a consumer would benefit from in cases of traditional commerce. This study aims to present certain elements of a response, first, by analyzing substantive internal law in the realm of consumer protection in the European, French, Canadian and Quebec legal systems, in order to examine areas of conflict that are likely to exist during the lifespan of this sort of contract. In the second part, this study demonstrates that the classic methods of resolving conflicts of jurisdiction and conflicts of law in private international law, while requiring certain adaptations, can nevertheless be effectively applied to the context of the Internet with the objective of protecting cyberconsumers. The results of this analysis and evaluation of the private international rules of conflict then lead to an assessment of the new measures that are required.

"Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maîtrise en droit (LLM)" / Le commerce électronique n'est plus un simple support promotionnel de la distribution des biens de consommation: il s'apparente de plus en plus à un marché parallèle à la distribution classique. Cependant, quel que soit le schéma emprunté, les rapports humains suscitent inévitablement des conflits et le commerce électronique ne fait pas exception à la règle. Ce nouveau vecteur n'a pas pour seule vertu le rapprochement des individus; de la même façon qu'il a affecté nos relations, il a eu un impact sur les litiges eux-mêmes. Le contexte particulier dans lequel s'inscrivent les transactions privées sur Internet, ont pour conséquence des litiges portant sur de faibles sommes d'argent et qui sont qui plus est - conditionnés par certains aspects techniques ou certaines particularités du monde en ligne. A cela s'ajoute une dimension internationale qui accentue encore la complexité du règlement des litiges, dans la mesure où elle implique pour les parties de délicates délibérations sur la question du forum et du droit applicable. La dispersion des parties ne facilite pas l'exercice de l'action en justice. Aussi l'arbitrage en ligne a-t-il pour ambition éthérée d'éluder la voie judiciaire et, plus encore, la voie judiciaire à l'étranger. La Toile, par la multitude de possibilités qu'elle offre, perturbe autant les repères de la justice classique qu'elle ne lui apporte des solutions jusqu'alors inexplorées. Par un recoupement de leurs caractéristiques, l'arbitrage fait ainsi écho au commerce électronique. En d'autres termes la gestion de la procédure arbitrale se fera à distance. Une attention toute particulière doit être accordée aux spécificités d'Internet et à l'impact que ce contexte particulier peut avoir sur le cadre traditionnel de l'arbitrage. La transition vers le monde virtuel ne se fait donc pas sans heurts. Si l'arbitrage en ligne est techniquement praticable, juridiquement il soulève nombre de questions. L'arbitrage classique exige de nombreuses conditions de fonds et de v fonnes que l'arbitrage en ligne par sa nature même ne peut totalement satisfaire. Malgré cette évidence, le droit, dans un souci de perfection et de maniabilité toujours plus poussé, tend peu à peu à passer outre cet écueil. Voilà ce à quoi nous essaierons de répondre modestement au travers cet exposé. / E-Commerce is no longer a channel in support of the standard fonu of trading consumption goods. It has become an alternative trading market for those consumption goods. However, whether trade takes place through e-trading or more traditional ways, human relationships are likely to entail conflicts. As a new fonu of trading, e-commerce fostered and strengthened the relationships between individuals, inc1uding lawsuits. Nonetheless, the types of lawsuits related to e-commerce differ from those related to the standard trade in several ways. For example, lawsuits related to etrading often involve relatively limited amounts of money because of the particular context in which trade takes place through the internet or some technical aspects of it. In addition, the international dimension of the trade further complicates the settlement of litigation since it implies sensitive deliberations about the place ofjurisdiction and the applicable law. In this case, the difficulty in conducting the legal practice is exacerbated by the fact that parties are far apart. Consequently, online arbitration has the noble goal of eluding the legal process, especially abroad. The World Wide Web, through its numerous possibilities, raises questions on the references of the c1assical justice and proposes solutions in ways that so far were unexplored. Since they share many of the same characteristics, on-line arbitration is similar to e-trading-that is, the on-line arbitration process is made from distance. Overall, a very particular attention must be paid to the specificities of the Internet and to its possible effects on the traditional arbitration framework. For the arbitration, the transition of trade toward the electronic world has created lots of vii difficulties. While online arbitration is technically practicable, it raises many legal issues. Online arbitration cannot totally fulfill the numerous conditions of content and fonn that standard arbitration requires. Nevertheless, the Law, with its growing concern for perfection and adaptability, is progressively overcoming this difficulty. Those are the issue that we will try to address in this study.