Evaluating ASEAN E-Commerce Laws Using Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making

An evaluation of the ASEAN Electronic Commerce Acts (ECAs) is a specific primary step toward their harmonization. This evaluation is complex due to multiple criteria and uncertain information, especially in the case of electronic contracts. This study aims to evaluate and rank the ECAs of the ASEAN countries using a fuzzy multi-criteria decision making method. Seven criteria are determined for the evaluation of ASEAN ECAs. The Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) is applied for weighting of the criteria as well as the evaluation of alternatives. We applied the judgment of 10 experts to fill out the FAHP comparison matrices. The experts’ opinions are fuzziefied and aggregated using the fuzzy set theory. We found the weight of criteria, rank of ECAs in each criterion and the final rank on overall comprehensiveness of the ASEAN ECAs. The results show that the FAHP address the multi criteria evaluation of the laws and regulations. The recognition of the Electronic Message with a weight of 0.216684 is the most important criterion in the evaluation of ECAs, and the Place of Dispatch with a weight of 0.0276018 is the least important. This study has the potential to harmonize the ECAs among ASEAN countries which in turn will increase the number of online transactions and reduce the number of legal disputes.