Electronic Signatures in Law, 3rd Edition

Electronic signatures are ubiquitous. Anyone sending an e-mail or using a credit card uses one. They can have a bearing on all areas of law, and no lawyer is immune from having to advise clients about their legal consequences. This third edition provides an exhaustive discussion of what constitutes an electronic signature, the forms an electronic signature can take and the issues relating to evidence, formation of contract and negligence in respect of electronic signatures. Case law from a wide range of common law and civil law jurisdictions is analysed to illustrate how judges have dealt with changes in technology in the past and how the law has adapted in response.

• Case studies illustrate how judges have dealt with new technological developments in the past, thereby helping lawyers and judges to understand electronic signatures and reach correct conclusions

• Simplifies the process of advising clients by illustrating how legislation in some jurisdictions requires the use of a specific method of electronic signature when entering into contractual relations

• Explores the legal acceptability of negotiations conducted by e-mail, in the context of judges being generally committed to continuing with the tradition of ensuring new forms of commercial communications are legally binding