eSignature Legality Summary
eSignatures are legally valid and admissible in the court of law. Bahrain follows a model where eSignatures or digital signatures issued by a Certifying Authority are considered legally valid. Specific use cases for eSignatures are indicated in the ET Law.The Electronic Transactions Law, Law No. 28 (established in 2002) highlights that a handwritten signature isn’t always needed for a contract to be considered credible, and that contracts can’t be refused for simply being electronic. They’ll usually be seen as such as long as legally able individuals have reached an agreement (this can be by agreeing verbally, electronically or by physically signing something).
Legislative Decree No. 28 of 2002 with respect to Electronic Transactions and its subsequent amendments (particularly the amendment made by Law N. 6 of 2012, which facilitated the implementation of the BCTS) provide the legal framework for, among other things: the acceptance of electronic records, electronic signatures and electronic transactions. It also provides for the legal recognition of electronic records as evidence; usage of electronic signatures; acknowledgement & time and place of dispatch of electronic records.
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Use Cases for eSignatures ?
Use cases where an SES is typically appropriate include:
- Speedy HR document preparation with preapproved templates, easy update of each employee, new employee onboarding processes as well as 360 degree view of employee files.
- End user agreements including sales & service terms, new retail account opening documents, invoices, shipment details, user manual, EULAs, policies
Use Cases for Qualified Signatures ?
Use cases where an AES is typically appropriate include:
- Purchase, procurement and commercial agreements including invoices, trade and payment terms, certificates, NDAs, sales & distribution agreements, order acknowledgements.
- Real estate lease agreements for residential and commercial purpose
Use Cases that are not appropriate for Electronic Signatures
Use cases that are specifically barred from digital or electronic processes or that include explicit requirements, such as handwritten (e.g. wet ink) signatures or formal notarial process that are not usually compatible with electronic signatures or digital transaction management.
- Notarization – real property title deed transfer
- Notarization – granting a power of attorney
- Notarization – signing the Articles of Association of a company with limited liability and any amendments thereof
“Digital Signature” means a transformation of a message using an asymmetric cryptosystem such that a person having the initial message and the signer’s public key can accurately determine
(a) whether the transformation was created using the private key that corresponds to the signer’s public key;
(b) whether the message has been altered since the transformation was made
[1] An AES is an “advanced electronic signature”, a type of electronic signature that meets the following requirements:
(a) it is uniquely linked to the signatory;
(b) it is capable of identifying the signatory;
(c) it is created using means that are under the signatory’s sole control;
(d) it is linked to other electronic data in such a way that any alteration to the said data can be detected.
[2] A QES is a specific digital signature implementation that has met the particular specifications of a government, including using a secure signature creation device, and been certified as ‘qualified’ by either that government or a party contracted by that government.
External Resources
https://www.bahrain.bh/wps/wcm/connect/1ede6815-4dc0-451c-aa7d-09c3622f0494/CASPMFGX.pdf?MOD=AJPERESeMudhra, and all associates including agents, officers, employees or affiliates, are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary or consequential damages.