Consideration:

Contracts result only when one promise is made in exchange for something in return. This something in return is called consideration.The present rules of consideration apply to e-contracts. There is concern among consumers regarding Transitional Security over the Internet. The e-directive on Distance Selling tries to generate confidence by minimizing abuse by purchasers and suppliers. It specifies-

A list of key points, must be supplied to the consumer in ‘a clear and comprehensible manner.’

Written confirmation, or confirmation in another durable medium available and accessible to the consumer, of the principle points.

The right of withdrawal enabling consumers to avoid deals entered into inadvertently or without sufficient knowledge, providing for seven day cooling-off period free from penalty or reason to return the goods or reimburse the cost of services.

Performance should be delivered within thirty days of order unless otherwise expressly agreed.

Reimbursement of sums lost to fraudulent use of credit cards. It places the risk of fraud on the credit card company, requiring them to take steps to protect their position.

On the other hand, there is also need to protect sellers from rogue purchasers. For this, the provision of ‘charge-back clauses’ and encouragement of pre-payment by buyers is recommended. Thus, this Directive adequately protects rights of consumers against unknown sellers and sellers against unknown buyers.

Liablity and Damages:

A party that commits breach of an agreement may face various types of liability under contract law. Due to the nature of the systems and the networks that business employ to conduct e-commerce, parties may find themselves liable for contracts which technically originated with them but, due to programming error, employee mistake or deliberate misconduct were executed, released without the actual intent or authority of the party. Sound policies dictate that parties receiving messages be able to rely on the legal expressions of the authority from the sender's computer and this legally be able to attribute these messages to the sender. In addition to employing information security mechanisms and other controls, techniques for limiting exposure to liability include: -

1.Trading partner and legal technical arguments,

2. Compliance with recognized procedures, guidelines and practices,

3. Audit and control programmers and reviews,

4. Technical competence and accreditation,

5. Proper human resource management,

6. Insurance,

7. Enhance notice and disclosure mechanisms and

8. Legislation and regulation addressing relevant secure electronic commerce issuing.

E-Contracts reduces costs, saves time, fasten customer response and improve service quality by reducing paper work, thus increasing automation.

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