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Abstract

The two legal questions that form the bedrock of every dispute are, which law applies and which court has the jurisdiction to hear the case. Even if these questions are resolved, a dispute outside Indian territory may not be subject to the same enforcement regime prevalent in India. Decisions of foreign courts are difficult to enforce rendering the entire process of dispute resolution ineffective. It is for these reasons that this article assumes relevance in light of the growing ecommerce business in India with foreign companies such as Amazon not only setting up operations in India but also directly entering into contracts with local vendors and customers. Section 20 of the CPC grants jurisdiction to those courts within whose local limits the cause of action arises or where the defendants reside or carry on business. However, it is difficult to determine where the contract was concluded where the buyer and seller are in two different locations. To fill the lacuna in the law, the paper looks at provisions in competing legislations, namely the Consumer Protection Act and the IT Act, 2000. The article traces the legal developments in India throwing light on the various tests adopted by courts determine place of business and cause of action. The main argument of this article is that private dispute resolution offers a fitting solution since parties can decide the substantive law to be applied in case of disputes eliminating any ambiguity. The article concludes that methods such as arbitration although advantageous place the consumer on an unequal playing field and limit opportunities for mediation and negotiation

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