Description

PREAMBLE

This is a revised version of the document which has been prepared within the framework of the ITU-EU HIPCAR project implemented by the International Telecommunication Union in collaboration with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU). That document is based on the policy guidelines discussed and endorsed by the HIPCAR’s Working Group on Information Society Issues – which includes as members key national and regional stakeholder organizations from throughout the region.

The draft Electronic Transactions Act (ETA) prepared under EGRIP gives legal recognition to electronic records and electronic signatures by way of evidentiary presumptions to ensure these have the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as paper records. These presumptions are:

(a)                There is no legal difference between electronic records and paper records.

(b)               There is no legal difference between electronic records and paper documents when satisfying the legal requirements of being in writing.

(c)                There is no legal difference between an electronic signature and a hand-written signature when satisfying the legal requirement of a signature.

(d)               There is no legal difference between electronic records and paper records when admitting these as evidence in legal proceedings.

(e)                There is no legal difference between a contract entered into electronically and a paper contract.