Pacta Sunt Servanda but where is the agreement? The complicated case of eCustoms

Abstract

This paper examines the role of regulation in eCustoms. We made use of a novel methodological approach, syntegration, to obtain the views of experts from government, businesses, technology providers and academics about barriers and drivers of eCustoms imlementation. During the syntegration workshop, regulation was perceived as both a barrier and a driver and in this paper we present the arguments of the participants on this issue. In our analysis, we attempt to discuss the practical value from the syntegration workshop by reflecting on the power of regulation when we move from a national to an international context which is the arena for eCustoms regulation. Our conclusion is that although at a national level regulation can be a powerful instrument for eCustoms implementation, the power of regulation fades to recommendations and soft law the more we move to an international level, and thus, making it a less powerful instrument for eCustoms implementation. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008.