The Legal Status of Electronic Signatures

1
The Legal Status of Electronic Signatures

• Patrick Van Eecke
• Interdisciplinary Centre for Law IT K.U.Leuven

2
Electronic contracting an issue ?

• on-line business to consumer
• www.amazon.com
• www.leisureplanet.com
• www.mp3.com
• on-line business to business
• e-procurement
• on-line consumer to consumer
• e-bay.com
• on-line administration
• www.leuven.be
• www.clickform.be, www.signform.be

3
Trust

• Technical trust
• use of encryption ? confidentiality
• use of digital signature ? authentication
• Legal trust to be sure the electronic contract
• will be valid
• and effective

4
Problem with legal trust

• Validity of the contract?
• Consensualismus
• Exceptions
• Proof of the contract?
• Limited types of evidence
• Hierarchy of evidential instruments
• ?Paper, signature, original

5
Belgium two legal initiatives

• Draft law on the Adaptation of the Civil Code
• Draft law creating a framework for Certification
  Service Providers
• Liberalisation of cryptography 1/1/1998
• The use of cryptography is free. The supply to
  the public of cryptographic services designated
  by the King is subject to a prior notification
  of the Institute. This notification has to be
  done by registered letter at least four weeks
  before the start of the activities.

6
Civil Code

• Status in Parliament
• Aim give legal effect to electronic signatures
  in general
• Een handtekening in de zin van dit artikel kan
  een digitale gegevensverzameling zijn als ze aan
  een bepaalde persoon kan toegerekend worden en
  het behoud van de integriteit van de inhoud van
  de akte aantoont.
•  Une signature au sens de cet article peut être
  un ensemble de données numériques pour autant
  quelle puisse être imputée à une personne
  déterminée et quelle établisse le maintien de
  lintégrité de lacte.

7
Certification Services Law

• Status Council of Ministers
• Aim
• Voluntary accreditation regime
• minimum security and organisational level
• Legal effect

8
Europe?

• Draft Directive on electronic signatures
• Draft Directive on electronic commerce
• EESSI

9
The Electronic Signatures Directive (draft)

• 13 May 1998 Proposal of draft directive
• End 1999 Final adoption
• Implementation within 18 months after adoption
  (2001)
• http//europa.eu.int/comm/dg15/en/media/

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Principles of the Directive

• Technology independent
• Free market for products and services
• Avoiding prior authorization scheme
• Voluntary accreditation scheme for CSPs
• Legal recognition of electronic signatures
• Requirements for signature products and services

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Legal recognition of electronic signatures

• Equivalence with handwritten signatures for
• advanced electronic signatures based on
• qualified certificates (Annex I II) , created by
• secure signature creation device (Annex III)
• Any other general electronic signature admissible
  as evidence

12
The Electronic Commerce Directive

• Status
• Aim
• Article 9 elektronic contracting
• Member States obliged to adapt national
  legislation
• not notarys, registration, family law,
  succession
• (18 November 1998, COM (1998) 586 final, OJ C
  30,5/2/99)
• see http//www.law.kuleuven.ac.be/icri

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EESSI

• European Electronic Signature Standardisation
  Initiative
• Sponsored by E.C., CEN, ETSI
• Aim Technical translation of legal requirements

Directive electronic signatures - legal
requirement - legal requirement - legal
requirement - ...
14
Conclusion

• Law and Technology coming together
• for creating a legal and technical
• trustworthy electronic business environment

15
More information

• See http//www.law.kuleuven.ac.be/icri for
  general information on law and electronic
  signatures
• See book The legal aspects of digital
  signatures by Dumortier Van Eecke, 1999.