Cyber law must meet global standards
Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A six-member expert team of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) urged NAM member countries to adopt international standards for their cyber laws to minimize legal barriers in e-commerce, and to provide a common platform to curb cyber crime.
The expert team under NAM's Center for South-South Technical Cooperation (CSSTC) ended on Tuesday a two-day discussion on standardizing national e-commerce laws among NAM members.
CSSTC executive director Omar Halim said making Indonesia's cyber law compatible with international standards would increase investor confidence in doing business with Indonesian partners.
"A law on e-commerce allows us to conduct transactions, which in the past we did on paper, electronically, yet with a certain measure of (legal) protection," Omar told reporters.
He said that Indonesia had yet to deliberate its cyber law with the bill stuck for two years at the legislature.
The country's e-commerce industry is still in its infancy although many Internet analysts agreed that its growth potential was high.
At the same time, however, cyber fraud in credit card transactions over the Internet, are common in Indonesia.
Legal and Internet experts from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Sri Lanka and Belarus drafted what they called: The Jakarta Recommendations.
The document said e-commerce increased chances for NAM member countries to engage in international trade, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
"E-commerce has considerable potential for developing countries, but the positive impact expected from it would be reduced if users were confronted with doubts as to the legal value of electronic commerce transactions," the document said.
It recommended NAM member countries consider adopting the model law as outlined by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
Other recommendations include that a cyber law should be transparent and predictable to avoid legal ambiguity between transacting parties.
It must also not discriminate between different types of technologies, domestic and foreign electronic signatures, and traditional paper-based and electronic transactions.