General Principles of Consumer Protection in E-Commerce Trade: A Comparative Study between Islamic Law and EU Laws

Abstract

This thesis presents the concept of Sharia law and contrasts it with EU laws in the area of e-consumer protection. These two laws have been chosen as they are exercised in more than one country and do not develop their own juridical procedures other than the Common law. The overriding objective of this thesis is to examine the extent to which European Union laws are different from legislations that are influenced by certain principles of Sharia. In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, this thesis approached a number of main issues, namely: the effectiveness of EU legislation in protecting and safeguarding e-consumer rights, the efficiency of Sharia law in protecting and safeguarding e-consumer rights, and highlighting the essential differences between EU legislation and Sharia law in protecting and safeguarding e-consumer rights. The significance of this research lies in the fact that it rationalizes the changes and developments that have so far taken place in the two jurisdictions which dominate significant portions of the world and yet arise from completely different origins. The thesis identified certain procedures in the Sharia that secure the interest of consumers. In this regard, the concept of “Khiyar-al-Tadlis” is well-established in Sharia law and cannot be found in EU laws and, as a consequence, is highly recommended for e-consumer protection. Moreover, the choice-of-law conflict creates deficits in legal applications and the availability of security procedures for e-consumers. EU laws are significantly lacking when it comes to protection of online consumers across borders. This thesis focuses, specifically, on the recovery measures that both the EU and the Sharia law provide for e-consumers if they suffer any loss as a result of an online transaction and enable them to gain justified compensation. The study aims to provide policymakers with effective measures for preserving the rights of e-consumers and therefore promote electronic trade across different countries. Finally, this thesis will address the current inefficient aspects of e-consumer protection in both Sharia and EU laws and will attempt to propose a solution under which the rights of all concerned parties can be balanced.