Personal electronic data protection : UN guidelines and other documents. Chapter 6

• Pages: 87-90
• DOI: 10.10520/EJC74040
• Author: Leani Marlie Van Schalkwyk
• Published date: 01 January 2005
• Date: 01 January 2005

CHAPTER 6

PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DATA PROTECTION:

UN GUIDELINES AND OTHER DOCUMENTS

1. Introduction

Since the Internet shows very little consideration for national borders,

solutions for problems arising from the use of the Internet can with-

out much difficulty be sought on international level. Therefore, inter-

national bodies such as the United Nations have a very important

role to play.

2. UNCITRAL

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law

(UNCITRAL), the UN body concerned with e-commerce, is mainly

engaged in the issues of computer evidence, contracts and digital

signatures and great progress is made on these topics.381

The Commission has for some time been working on the legal con-

sequences of the development of e-commerce. In 1996 the Model

Law on Electronic Commerce was finalised and adopted, with an

additional article adopted in 1998 The Model Law was adopted to

serve as a more effective tool for States that modernises their

legislation. Some of the main objects were to remove uncertainty

as to the legal effect and validity of paperless messages and to

create a more secure legal environment for electronic commerce.

The Model Law does not in particular refer to the protection of data

or privacy principles that refer to electronic commerce.

3. OECD Guidelines

In 1978 the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop-

ment (OECD)382 convened a group of experts to study developments

87

381 See www.bmck.com/ecommerce/uncitral-t.htm

382 The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Ca-

nada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxem-

bourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,

T

urkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.The following countries

became Members subsequently through accession at the dates indicated

thereafter: Japan (28th April 1964), Finland (28th January 1969), Aus-

tralia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973), Mexico (18th May

1994), the Czech Republic (21st December 1995), Hungary (7th May 1996),

Poland (22nd November 1996), Korea (12th December 1996) and the

Slovak Republic (14th December 2000).The Commission of the European

Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD

Convention).