Legal regime of electronic documents and electronic signatures: international and European experience

Abstract

The research is based on current interna­tional legislation, legislation of EU and legislation of foreign countries. On the grounds of this documentary basis the notion of e-commerce is analyzed, legal relationships related to this notion, the use of electronic documents and electronic signatures is discussed.The internationalization of international economic relations and globalization have necessitated the international unification and harmonization of legislation in the field of electronic document circulation, the purpose of which is to exchange infor­mation between participants in relations located in different states. In this regard, it is impossible to ensure the effective legal regulation of these legal relations within one country without taking into account the existing approaches in international practice and foreign legislation. The basis for the harmonization of rules on electronic documents and their use in contractual relations are the reasons of an economic and legal nature. One of these factors was the emergence and development of new means of communication, with the result that economic relations went beyond the frame­work of individual states and ceased to be tied to a specific national territory.Among the reasons specific to this area, it should be noted the emergence of new ways of certifying authentic documents and new forms of documents, through the exchange of which it is possible to conclude, execute contracts, perform other legally significant for civil and international circulation of actions. The advantages of using new technical tools have necessitated the consolidation of legal requirements for such use. However, the publication of special acts at the domestic level will not contribute to the development of international trade, since the right of each state has its own characteristics, due to the centuries-old traditions and modern interests of the state in various fields.The adoption of the EU Directives and their implementation in the national legis­lation of the EU member states led to the fact that if the electronic document circula­tion was initially widely used in the USA, then later it became the most popular in the countries of Western Europe. Thus, it can be stated that in international law, sig­nificant results have been achieved in the unification of the norms on electronic docu­ment circulation. Uniformity in the regulation of electronic information exchange is achieved not only through the unification of standards, but also through private unifi­cation by the parties to information exchange contracts using electronic means.Strengthening the mutual influence of national economies and legal systems requires the improvement of the norms of national legislation in this area so that they meet inter­national standards. The existing differences in national legal regimes governing the elec­tronic exchange of information may, to a large extent, limit the ability of commercial en­terprises to enter international markets. Under these conditions, the importance of using foreign experience to improve the national legislation increases. Based on international experience in this area, it is necessary to build a legal regulation of electronic document circulation, which would regulate those relations that cannot be settled by the partici­pants of legal relations themselves. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the principles of technological neutrality and functional equivalence.