The situation of e-consumer protection under Rwandan law. The case of consumer redress in cross-border dealings

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject Law - Miscellaneous, , language: English, abstract: In the traditional marketplace, consumers are aware of their legal rights, and it is relatively easier to get access to different methods of enforcing their rights such as through in-house complaint procedures or appealing to courts. Since every transaction is made under a single jurisdiction, redress is often available and effective. In contrast, in online transactions, access to redress is not easily reachable for consumers. Since e-commerce is borderless, the recourse to courts in disputes resulting from international electronic transactions is also complicated mostly due to the problem of knowing which courts shall have jurisdiction over such disputes.

Following the ultimate purpose of this research, the research questions to which we attempted to respond are the following: To what extent is the existing legal framework adequate to guarantee effective e-consumer redress in Rwanda? To what extent does Rwandan law address the issue of the conflict of laws and jurisdiction in case of cross-border e-commerce vis-à-vis consumer redress? What can be done to ensure or improve the effectiveness and efficiency of e-consumer redress for cross-border disputes?

This research is mostly intended to identify loopholes in Rwandan Laws with regard to issues that emerge time and again in e-commerce transactions. It specifically focuses on the availability and effectiveness of consumer redress, mechanisms thereof and institutions to put them in force. It as well tends to show failures of Rwandan Private International Rules concerning the protection of consumers, which are normally taken into account by courts while dealing with consumer-related issues consisting of a foreign element, which refers to contact with some system of law and jurisdiction other than those of the forum state.