The Egyptain E-Signature Law and Its Effects on E Commerce in Egypt
Law No. 15 of the Year 2004
Regulating Electronic Signature
(E-Signature)
& Establishing the ITIDA
The success of the e-signature law (Law 15/2004) is dependent on it being part of an included composition covering all areas of the online world. This is why it is critical that there are laws covering e-commerce, e-crime and online financial and economic services. There is a global dispute over the right legislative approach to the Internet. One side calls for absolutely no legislative interference in the Internet on the base that the Internet is an entirely new experience that will generate its own law system that is appropriate for its unique nature.
On the other hand, some argue that there is no need for legislative intervention in online transactions, since the Internet is no more than a technological improvement that will submit to the legal system currently in place. This is an oversimplification that displays an ignorance of the challenges that e- transactions pose to current legal systems. Most advanced legal systems have abandoned this thinking. As regards the subject of the e-contract, our legal system was only designed to deal with goods and services, and it is unclear how it should approach e-goods that are bought and sold online, such as songs and computer programs? Do they constitute a special kind of goods or services? What about the place the contract is concluded? The e-contract could be between an English seller, an Egyptian buyer and the exchange could take place in Sudan. What laws do we apply in this case? Which courts have jurisdiction?
The parties present another problem. How can our legal system make a ruling on the competence of the parties involved when they concluded their contract having never actually met or known each other? And what about transactions for goods that are treated differently under the law, such as cigarettes and alcohol? What about contracts and transactions made automatically by computers themselves without human
Regulating Electronic Signature
(E-Signature)
& Establishing the ITIDA
The success of the e-signature law (Law 15/2004) is dependent on it being part of an included composition covering all areas of the online world. This is why it is critical that there are laws covering e-commerce, e-crime and online financial and economic services. There is a global dispute over the right legislative approach to the Internet. One side calls for absolutely no legislative interference in the Internet on the base that the Internet is an entirely new experience that will generate its own law system that is appropriate for its unique nature.
On the other hand, some argue that there is no need for legislative intervention in online transactions, since the Internet is no more than a technological improvement that will submit to the legal system currently in place. This is an oversimplification that displays an ignorance of the challenges that e- transactions pose to current legal systems. Most advanced legal systems have abandoned this thinking. As regards the subject of the e-contract, our legal system was only designed to deal with goods and services, and it is unclear how it should approach e-goods that are bought and sold online, such as songs and computer programs? Do they constitute a special kind of goods or services? What about the place the contract is concluded? The e-contract could be between an English seller, an Egyptian buyer and the exchange could take place in Sudan. What laws do we apply in this case? Which courts have jurisdiction?
The parties present another problem. How can our legal system make a ruling on the competence of the parties involved when they concluded their contract having never actually met or known each other? And what about transactions for goods that are treated differently under the law, such as cigarettes and alcohol? What about contracts and transactions made automatically by computers themselves without human