AUTHENTICATING ELECTRONIC ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACT AND ITS LEGAL FORCE BEFORE THE JORDANIAN JUDICIARY

Abstract

One of the outcomes of the information technology revolution is the emergence of the Internet. This international innovation, which connects people everywhere without considering the political borders, has become an important method to join parties and form contracts regardless of the distance between them. As the administrative contract is one of the transactions that may be concluded electronically, it takes an important part that should be legally regulated. Electronic writing, electronic signature, and electronic documents are important instruments for the electronic administrative contract. This electronic contract is created by special procedures through electronic certification bodies. This study explores how to authenticate the electronic administrative contract. It also examines the legal value of this contract before the Jordanian judiciary. The study engages in a descriptive analysis of the legal texts, especially Jordan’s Electronic Transactions Law, concerning the verification and authority of electronic administrative contracts. The main findings are that the Jordanian legislation limits the signature images to signing, stamping, and fingerprinting. Moreover, the Jordanian legislation gives the electronic signature, which is documented according to the specific authentication procedures. It has an evidential value exactly similar to the evidential value of the ordinary signature.