Les contrats sur l'internet : un point de vue international: les approches nord-americaine et française

The development of information technology has had a radical and worldwide effect on the way people communicate. This technological revolution is illustrated notably by the way in which more and more sectors of society increasingly make use of the Internet. The business sector has found enormous potential in electronic communication for improving and increasing commercial transactions.This thesis studies the legal questions posed by the use of the Internet as a basis of contractual agreements and business relationships. The way in which on-line contracts are drawn up and agreed upon brings factors into play which are outside the scope of the established rules. Whereas traditional contracts derive their essential legality from written documents, this is not so in on-line transactions. In the same way, the on-line environment poses problems of contract security and confidentiality which do not exist in a traditional environment. The Internet is in essence a transnational virtual environment where there are no frontiers. The establishment of laws to govern contracts made on the Internet thus becomes an essential factor in determining the security and development of on-line transactions.This thesis analyses the North-American and French approaches as well as international rules concerning the new legal questions posed by on-line transactions. On the one hand, it must be determined if business transactions are compatible with on-line environment and, on the other hand, if any parity exists or indeed should be sought