Electronic signature
Digital signature
Black’s Law Dictionary1 defines-
Signature
“1. A person’s name or mark written by that person or at the person’s direction. – Also termed sign manual. … 2. Commercial law. Any name, mark, or writing used with the intention of authenticating a document. … – Also termed legal signature. …”
Digital signature
“A secure, digital code attached to an electronically transmitted message that uniquely identifies and authenticates the sender. •A digital signature consists of a “hashed” number combined with a number assigned to a document (a private encryption key). Generating a signature requires the use of private- and public-key-encryption software, and is often activated by a simple command or act, such as clicking on a “place order” icon on a retailer’s website. Digital signatures are esp. important for electronic commerce and are a key component of many electronic message-authentication schemes. Several states have passed legislation recognizing the legality of digital signatures. See E-COMMERCE; KEY ENCRYPTION.”
Electronic signature
“An electronic symbol, sound, or process that is either attached to or logically associated with a document (such as a contract or other record) and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document. • Types of electronic signatures include a typed name at the end of an email, a digital image of a handwritten signature, and the click of an “I accept” button on an e-commerce site. The term electronic signature does not suggest or require the use of encryption, authentication, or identification measures. A document’s integrity (unaltered content), authenticity (sender’s identity), and confidentiality (of the signer’s identity or document’s contents) are not ensured merely because an electronic signature is provided for.”
Some persons use the terms electronic signature and digital signature interchangeably. In cyber affairs a manual or physical signature will not apply. What is needed is an electronic signature, digital signature.
The following terms are commonly encountered when dealing with the concepts of electronic signature, digital signature- encryption, private and public key encryption, encryption key, “hashed” number, hashing, cryptography, trust services, etc.
International laws on electronic signatures, digital signatures-
United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts,2 2005, it was prepared by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
European Union Regulation 910/2014 of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (eIDAS Regulation)
The following Countries have passed domestic laws on the use of electronic signatures and digital signatures3–
Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Mexico, Malaysia, Moldova, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, The Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Republika Srpska (entity of the Bosnia and Herzegovina) 2005, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America.
Thank you.
Stephanie Orji lawyers at Heptagon & Associates, a full service law firm in Abuja, Nigeria.
29-June-2024.
- Ninth Edition, Thomson Reuters, 2009, pages 1507 – 1508 ↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_signature accessed on 29th June 2024 ↩︎
- Ibid accessed on 29th June 2024 ↩︎