Yes, electronic contracts have legal validity and are legally recognized by the Civil Code and the Electronic Signature Law.

First of all, the Civil Code stipulates that the parties may conclude a contract in written form, oral form or other forms. Among them, data messages that can tangibly express the content through electronic data exchange, email, etc., and can be retrieved at any time, are deemed to be in written form.

In addition, the "Electronic Signature Law" was officially promulgated on August 28, 2004, and came into effect on April 1, 2005. Among them, Article 14 of the Electronic Signature Law stipulates that a reliable electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature or seal.

"Electronic Signature Law"

However, not all electronic contracts have legal effect. Whether an electronic contract has legal effect needs to be considered from the following aspects:

The difference between an electronic contract and a paper contract lies in whether it is signed with a traditional seal or handwritten signature or signed in electronic form. The legal validity mainly depends on whether it meets the requirements of the Electronic Signature Law and the Civil Code, that is, whether the electronic contract meets the statutory requirements for effectiveness.

On the one hand, electronic contracts are the same as paper contracts. If the requirements for the validity of the contract are stipulated, they must be executed as agreed. If there is no stipulation, they will generally take effect immediately. According to Article 55 of my country's "General Principles of Civil Law", the establishment of a civil legal act must meet the following requirements: 1. The actor has the corresponding behavioral capacity; 2. The expression of intention is true; 3. It does not violate the law or social justice *Benefit.

In addition, the "Electronic Contract Formulation Process Specifications" (GB/T36298-2018) also stipulates: A legal and effective electronic contract means that the contracting parties use a third-party electronic contract making system on the Internet and use reliable electronic Data message formed by signature technology.

It can be seen that signing a legal and effective electronic contract requires the use of a third-party electronic contract platform and the use of reliable electronic signature technology.

Achieve reliable electronic signatures (Source: eSignature)

On the other hand, according to Article 13 of the "Electronic Signature Law", if the electronic signature meets the following conditions at the same time, it shall be deemed to be For a reliable electronic signature:

(1) When the electronic signature production data is used for electronic signature, it is exclusive to the electronic signer;

(2) When signing, the electronic signature production data only Controlled by the electronic signer;

(3) Any changes to the electronic signature after signing can be discovered;

(4) Any changes to the content and form of the data message after signing can be discovered was discovered.

That is, the true identity, true intention, signature has not been changed, and the original text has not been changed.

That is to say, it is necessary to ensure that the identity of the signer is true and accurate, that there is a clear expression of willingness to sign, and that the original text of the signed document and the signature data themselves cannot be tampered with. What meets the above four requirements is a reliable electronic signature.