Honorable Members of the Commission:

In light of the recent European Commission draft Regulation on Jurisdiction, Recognition and Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters, I thought that you would be interested in a September 1999 statement issued by the Global Internet Project (GIP) entitled "Jurisdiction in Cyberspace." The GIP would like to formally submit this statement as part of the written testimony for the upcoming public hearing on November 4 and 5 before the Justice and Home Affairs Task Force of the Commission.

GIP is an international group of senior executives committed to spurring the growth of the Internet worldwide. Member companies are from the telecommunications, software, and financial services segments of the Internet industry. The founder of the group is Dr. James Clark, former chairman of Netscape Communications Corporation. A list of GIP members is attached.

The GIP originally released the attached statement on jurisdiction in Brussels last month. As outlined in the statement, GIP recommends several guiding principles to use when considering jurisdiction in cyberspace. These recommendations are based on principles that are widely agreed upon in the industry, including freedom of contract, applying the jurisdiction of the country of origin in disputes, and the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

The members of the GIP recognize that there are many difficult jurisdictional issues posed by the Internet Revolution. However, we are very concerned about efforts to apply old regulatory models to this new global medium, and strongly caution against any one-size-fits-all solutions to jurisdiction in cyberspace. Approaches that are grounded in traditional concepts of jurisdiction may not always suit the needs of consumers, merchants or governments. In addition, as we note in our statement, there are many industry initiatives underway that will address many of the concerns of on-line consumers.

I commend the European Commission for holding public hearings on this critical issue. On behalf of the GIP, I would like to thank you in advance for consideration of GIP's position on jurisdiction in cyberspace. Should the Commission be interested in do so, I have no objection to the inclusion of this statement in the Commission's official minutes of the November 1999 hearing on jurisdiction and applicable law as it relates to electronic commerce. Please contact me should you need any additional information.

Respectfully,
John Patrick
Chairman, Global Internet Project
Vice President, Internet Technology - IBM
E-mail: patrick@us.ibm.com