The Rights of the Deceased: Moral Rights Incidental to Copyright Law
- Vanshika Agrawal
- 2024-04-25
Contents hide
2 WHAT IS CYBER SPACE JURISDICTION?
2.1 In a cyber space transaction , basically three parties are involved and they are as follows-
4 HOW JURISDICTION IS DETERMINED IN CYBER CRIME THROUGH NATIONAL LAWS?
5 IMPORTANT CASE LAWS RELATED TO CYBER SPACE
Understanding Jurisdictional Issues
Cyberspace jurisdiction has always been a controversial issue not only in India but also at the global level. Cyberspace has to always undergo various jurisdictional issues. The initiation of any case or complaint has to face the problem of jurisdiction at different levels.
In the contemporary world, a person can even live without food for a day but that person cannot survive without internet connectivity for a day. Internet and cyber space has become basic necessity of human beings. Internet has been playing major role in every field of our lives whether it is business, education, growing connections worldwide through social platforms, globalization, politics, medicine, and infrastructure or science and technology.
The advancement of internet came to be known as cyberspace because it gave birth to a virtual world. If the real world is full of crimes and wrong doings, then how could we expect that the virtual would be not. Cyber space includes all the electronic devices which also functions through internet. The devices like software, data storage devices, the internet, websites, emails and even mobile phones, ATM machines.
Everything has its merit and demerit. Similarly the cyber space has both advantage and disadvantage. Somehow it has also simplified our life style and also made it more complicated by continuous cyber crimes.
Cyber Crimes refers to those criminal activities which begins from minor electronic offences to more serious offences like illegal gambling, theft of personal information, cyber defamation, cyber stalking, cyber bullying, web jacking, hacking of social media, data diddling etc.
The offences and to prove this offences are not bigger issues in cyber crimes but the main problem lies in the jurisdiction in these kind of cases. We all are aware that cyber space has no restriction of a physical boundary or any particular jurisdiction. This helps the criminal to commit such crimes by staying any place in the world.
For example- A person being in London can send defamatory messages to a person in India. The things which he required to do this are a cell phone and internet connection. He can also hack the entire social media account of that person being in any part of the world. Once this crime is committed, the main problem remains in the jurisdictions. Which laws should be applicable in this crimes, as the cyber laws differs from country to country.
Understanding Jurisdictional Issues
Jurisdiction refers to the power to determine where the crime has taken place and to hear a particular case which is to be placed in an appropriate court of law.
The main problem in cyber space is that when the dispute takes place, both the parties may belong to different parts of the world, which creates a bigger problem. A single internet transaction many involve the laws of two different countries.
Usually, the jurisdiction lies where the cause of action arises. However the method of determining jurisdiction has become incredibly difficult when there are multiple parties involved from different parts of the world.
Understanding Jurisdictional Issues
There exists three kinds of jurisdictions which helps in matter determining a states’ jurisdiction and they are-
Apart from this, there is also another kind of jurisdiction called personal jurisdiction. It refers to that kind of jurisdiction over persons involved in a particular lawsuit.
Pecuniary jurisdiction means the jurisdiction related to money. Here it is seen whether the court is competent to try the case of the monetary value of suit in question.
Understanding Jurisdictional Issues
As we know, jurisdiction is the power of the court to hear and determine the cause and adjudicate upon the matter that are litigate before it. The power of the court to take cognizance of the matter brought before it but when it comes to determine the jurisdiction in context of cyber space it became strenuous part of law.
Usually the concept of cyber law is also deal though the IT legislation Act. The Information Technology Act of 2000 which came into force on 17 October 2000. The objective of the Act is to provide legal recognition to e-commerce and to facilitate storage of electronic records with the Government.
This act has also provision which penalizes cyber crime and also give strict punishments. The provision regarding the jurisdiction of cyber crimes trial has also mentioned in the act.
This is about a cyber defamation case. The defendant was an employee of the plantiff’s company who starting sending derogatory and obscene texts to his employers and also to subsidiaries of the said company all over the world. The main reason behind this was to malign the reputation of the company all over the world.
The Delhi High Court assumed jurisdiction over a matter of defamation of reputation of corporate through electronic mails. An ex-parte injunction was grant by the court.
In this case, the court held that a passive website, having zero intention to mainly target the spectators outside the state where the host of the website is located, cannot vest the forum court with jurisdiction.
CONVENTION ON CYBER CRIME AND ITS IMPACT ON INDIA
In the year 2001, a convention took place which came to be known as Budapest Convention . This was the first international convention made and it mainly dealt with the internet and cyber crime by keeping compliance with the national laws. Many countries signed this treaty which included France, South Africa, Japan, Canada and many more. On the other hand, India and Brazil declined to accept this convention because they were not a part of drafting. But later as the number of cyber crimes increased in India, it accepted the convention in the year 2018.
Understanding Jurisdictional Issues
Many laws and regulations have been made to control crime but there are no specific cyber laws in India. Even if there is, it is just the foundation part that needed many amendments. The Information Technology or cyber convention does not regulate the whole crime. It is really important for us to make strong laws to be enact for the management of cybercrimes.
Understanding Jurisdictional Issues
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