Legal Acceptance of Digital Signatures . . Legal Acceptance Legislation Security CA Liability Further Resources About this site . As technology develops and the use of computers continues to increase, businesses and people will enter into increasing numbers of contracts based solely on electronic communications.
Electronic commerce raises a significant number of legal issues.
The primary legal issue that arises with respect to digital signatures is the application of the Statute of Frauds. . . The Statute of Frauds requires that certain contracts be in writing and signed by the party to be charged in order to be enforceable. At common law, a transaction is not invalid simply because it is not signed or in writing, but an unsigned, unwritten transaction is not enforceable in court. Despite having developed in England over three hundred years ago, the Statute of Frauds is still prominent today. Since electronic commerce will primarily involve the sale of goods, a key issue is whether digital signatures satisfy the U.C.C's Statute of Frauds.