What is signing a contract? What is the difference between electronic signature and electronic signature?
In fact, signing a contract is simply signing a contract, which is often agreed in writing and has legal effect;
Electronic signing is obviously the process of signing contracts online. Generally speaking, it is to move the contents of paper contracts online to form electronic contracts, and sign them online through computers/mobile phones.
What is an electronic signature?
"Electronic Signature Law" clearly stipulates that an electronic signature refers to data contained in a data message in electronic form, accompanied by data used to identify the identity of the signer and show that the signer approves its content. Data message refers to information generated, sent, received or stored by electronic, optical, magnetic or similar means.
What is an electronic signature?
In e-commerce, the two parties (or parties) may be far away from Wan Li, but they don't know each other, or even don't meet each other from beginning to end in the whole transaction process, so the traditional signature method is difficult to apply to this kind of transaction. Therefore, people try to use an electronic signature mechanism to prove their identity, which is electronic signature. 1June 1996 14 The 29th annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Model Law on Electronic Commerce).
Does the electronic signature have legal effect?
Due to the diversity of electronic signature forms, its reliability, authenticity and stability may vary greatly due to the different technical schemes adopted, resulting in its legal effect not at the same level.
The principle of "functional equivalence" can solve this problem well, and there are three basic models: first, only electronic signatures that meet certain conditions have the same legal effect as traditional signatures; Secondly, based on the stability, reliability and authenticity of electronic signatures, different patterns and characteristics of electronic signatures have different legal effects; Third, the electronic signature that meets the corresponding requirements can have the same legal effect as the traditional signature, regardless of the specific technical scheme. Taking this as the basis to judge whether the electronic signature has legal effect, it reduces the unstable influence of the diversity of electronic technology on the effectiveness of electronic signature.
Is the electronic signature written?
Article 4 of the Electronic Signature Law stipulates: "A data message that can tangibly express its contents and can be retrieved at any time is regarded as a written form that meets the requirements of laws and regulations."
In the case of plaintiff Beijing Time Media Culture Communication Co., Ltd. v. defendant Chang Difei 20 13, the defendant thought that SMS notification was not a written notification. However, the People's Court of Chaoyang District, Beijing held: "As a form of expressing personal meaning with mobile phones and their application software as the media and carrier, SMS can become evidence as long as it can prove the facts of the case, which belongs to the' written form' in this paper. The reasons are as follows: First, the written form should not be limited to what we usually call ordinary documentary evidence. Although SMS is different from the recording methods and media of ordinary documentary evidence, its function is the same, that is, it can record complete content. Secondly, mobile phone short messages also use the displayed and recorded contents to explain a problem of a case, which can be presented in written form for people to see and use, and it is no different from written form after being exported and printed; Thirdly, China's "Contract Law" and "Electronic Signature Law" expand the traditional written form into electronic data form, and mobile phone short messages also belong to the generalized electronic data form. Based on this, it can be concluded that mobile phone short messages belong to substantive written form.
Judging from the above cases, in judicial practice, data messages that tangibly express the content and can be obtained are regarded as written and barrier-free. Judging from the definition of data message, the written form here does not require tampering prevention, so ordinary e-mails and electronic documents are written even if they are not processed by electronic signature technology.