I was recently interviewed for an article in the Barbados Business Authority. The article touched on the value of executing contracts electronically in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the legal framework supporting e-contracting in Barbados.
After issuing my comments for that article, I was curious about the state of play across the wider Caribbean. I, therefore, researched which countries in the region have e-commerce laws and the results are listed below:
| Jurisdiction | Name of e-Commerce Law |
|---|---|
| Anguilla | Electronic Transactions Act, Revised Statutes of Anguilla, Chapter E38 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Electronic Transactions Act, No 24 of 2013 |
| Bahamas (Commonwelath of) | The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2003 |
| Barbados | Electronic Transactions Act, 2001; |
| Belize | Electronic Transactions Act, Chapter 290:01 |
| Bermuda | Electronic Transactions Act 1999 |
| British Virgin Islands | Electronic Transactions Act, 2001 (No 5 of 2001) |
| Cayman Islands | Electronic Transactions Law (2003 Revision) |
| Cuba | No law |
| Dominica | Electronic Transactions Act, 2013 |
| Dominican Republic | Ley de Comercio Electrónico, Documentos y Firmas Digitales No. 126-02 |
| French Guiana | French Civil Code |
| Grenada | Electronic Transactions Act, 2013 |
| Guyana | No law |
| Guadeloupe | French Civil Code |
| Haiti | Décret portant sur la signature électronique (Decree on Electronic Transactions) |
| Jamaica | Electronic Transactions Act, 2006 |
| Martinique | French Civil Code |
| Montserrat | Electronic Transactions Act 2009, No 7 of 2009 |
| Netherland Antilles | Landsverordening overeenkomsten langs elektronische weg (P.B. 2000, 186) |
| Puerto Rico | Ley de Firmas Electronicas de Puerto Rico, Ley numero 359 de Septiembre 16, 2004 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Electronic Transactions Act 2011, No 9 of 2011 |
| Saint Lucia | Electronic Transactions Act, 2011 (not yet in force) |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Electronic Transactions Act 2015, No 6 of 2015 (repealing and replacing Electronic Transactions Act, Cap 145) |
| Suriname | WET van 24 september 2017, houdende regels inzake het rechtsverkeer langs elektronische weg (Wet Elektronisch Rechtsverkeer) [LAW of September 24, 2017, containing rules on legal transactions by electronic means (Electronic Traffic Act)] |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Electronic Transactions Act, 2011 |
| Turks and Caicos | Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2000, Cap 2.14 |
A few notes on the list:
- In preparing the list, it was apparent that there was a significant level of disparity in the scope of rights and obligations in the different statutes. In future updates, I’ll be looking at some of the more important areas of nuance that exist in the e-commerce frameworks across the region.
- For the purpose of this list, ‘Caribbean’ jurisdictions were defined as: i) all the island-states in (or in the direct vicinity) of the Caribbean Sea as well as ii) those jurisdictions on the South or Central American mainland with sufficiently strong and continuing cultural, historical, economic and/or political commonalities with island states in the Caribbean Sea.
- Only 2 of the 24 jurisdictions surveyed appear to be without laws targeted at e-commerce: Cuba and Guyana (as of April 2020).
- If you’ve spotted an error or are aware of an update to any of the jurisdictions listed above, please let me know: contact {at} bartlettmorgan.com .
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