'E-Commerce' is the Focus theme for this issue of The Singapore Law Gazette. Our first article on this theme considers the regulatory framework pertaining to electronic commerce in the United States and the European Union, and looks into the implications for Singapore companies operating in these countries. The next article examines the way in which internet services are covered under World Trade Organisation Agreements, especially the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and argues about the impact which unresolved definitional issues will have on Internet Service Providers' access to telecommunications networks. This is followed by an article which focuses on the taxation aspect of electronic commerce, in particular the tax implications of electronic commerce on Asian business. With the ever increasing reliance on the internet in the business world, we round off this theme with an examination of defamation law applicable to those persons or entities which provide electronic services.

In the 'Features' section, we have an article which raises the importance of strengthening state responsibility in a borderless cyberspace. This is followed by a look into the Singapore Court of Appeal's decision in Xpress Print Pte Ltd v Monocraft Pte Ltd & Anor [2000] 3 SLR 545 and its departure from the principle established by the House of Lords in Dalton v Angus [1881] 6 App Cas 740, a move which has attracted positive response from legal writers and commentators.

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The Editor, The Singapore Law Gazette
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