Проблемы правового регулирования интернет-отношений с иностранным элементом

Abstract

The article gives an insight into the new issues of international private law in the new virtual surroundings. The Internet is absolutely new legal environment. It eliminates national borders and breaks old rules of law. The following problems arise with respect to the behavior of persons operating in it: jurisdiction of which state is at issue, i.e. courts or competent bodies of which state have powers to consider the Internet connected cases; law applicable to these cases; content of this law. National and international legal rules regulating the Internet problems have been developed not so long ago. They are based on the following basic principles. State regulation is combined with the self-regulation of persons operating in the Internet. The so-called principle of co-regulation gives them an opportunity to form rules of behavior in virtual space. The results of the self-regulation process need some time to appear. Therefore adoption of special legal acts by state bodies are deemed to be premature. Due to the lack of special rules on the Internet relations courts and other bodies apply general legislation rules. At the same time specific features of the Internet cause their development, modification and change. In particular, it concerns jurisdiction questions in the Internet cases. It is generally recognised that the basic rule of jurisdiction is the principle of respondent's domicile or nationality. However, the development of the global information infrastructure does not allow this factor to play the main role any more. In order to break the state laws an Internet user does not have to penetrate physically to the territory of a state and stay there. That is why the factor of physical presence has no meaning for the jurisdiction questions in Internet disputes. American case law and European legislative process show that in order to provide appropriate maintenance of law order within the scope of national jurisdiction courts have to expand jurisdiction rules. Thus they take into account not only the respondent's domicile or nationality but also the actual connection of a disputable Internet relation to the state of a court. The respective rules should be implemented in Belarusian civil legislation. It would be expedient to apply the criteria of the actual connection of a disputable Internet relation with a foreign element to the Republic of Belarus in order to give Belarusian Internet users ample opportunities and facilities to protect their legal rights and interests within the scope of Belarusian jurisdiction.