A Jurisprudential and Legal Analysis of the Liability of Online Stores in Supplying Defective Goods with Respect to the Concepts of Gharar and Digital Fraud
Subject Areas : حقوق مدنیHediyeh Fallah 1 , Mostafa Ghafoorian Nejad 2
1 - Student of Master’s Degree in Private Law, Department of Law, Ahrar Institute of Higher Education, Rasht, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, Department of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, Hakim Toos Higher Education Institute, Mashhad, Iran.
Keywords: Gharar, Digital Misrepresentation (Tadlis), Defective Goods, Civil Liability, Online Store, Electronic Commerce.,
Abstract :
The rapid expansion of electronic commerce, while facilitating commercial transactions, has also created new challenges in the field of legal and jurisprudential liability of online sellers, particularly regarding the supply of defective goods. The main issue of this research is to explain the foundations and scope of the liability of online stores in relation to product defects, with an emphasis on the jurisprudential concepts of gharar and digital fraud (tadlis), and to examine their compatibility with Iranian civil law. This study has been conducted using a descriptive–analytical method and by relying on library sources, jurisprudential opinions, and relevant legal regulations. The findings of the research indicate that offering defective goods, concealing defects, or providing incomplete or misleading information in a digital environment constitutes a form of gharar and digital fraud, and leads to the establishment of liability and civil responsibility for the online seller. Based on the results of the research, online sellers are obliged to guarantee the quality, authenticity, and integrity of goods and to provide transparent and honest information to buyers. Legal supervision also plays an effective role in reducing disputes and protecting consumer rights. The innovation of this study lies in the reinterpretation and development of the jurisprudential concepts of gharar and fraud within the context of electronic commerce and in presenting a jurisprudential–legal framework for explaining the liability of online stores regarding defective goods, which may serve as a basis for the reform and development of electronic commerce laws.
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