Electronic signatures are a valid way to sign formal legal contracts, the Law Commission has confirmed.
Such signatures have been subject to legal uncertainty until now.
In a consultation paper published this week, The Electronic Execution of Documents, the Commission confirms that business can move to fully digital contracts. It calls for a government-backed industry working group to consider practical issues around electronic signatures and how these can be improved. It also asks whether the law should be reformed to allow electronic execution of deeds, with witnesses using a real-time, shared online platform to witness documents from different locations.
Stephen Lewis, Law Commissioner, said: ‘Contract law in the UK is flexible, but some businesses are still unsure if electronic signatures would satisfy legal requirements.
‘We can confirm that they do, potentially paving the way for much quicker transactions for businesses and consumers. And not only that, there’s scope, with our proposals for webcam witnesses, to do even more to make signing formal documents more convenient, speed up transactions and get business booming.’
Adam Bullion, general manager of marketing at InfoTrack, added: 'Electronic signatures are not new and are widely used amongst many organisations including banks, so it’s great to see that the legal sector has been granted approval to use this method too. I have no doubt consumers will increasingly favour this way of handling documents, particularly among home movers who are required to sign many documents and contracts when moving through a transaction. In fact, recent research revealed that home movers are demanding better ways of communicating, and within that falls the desire for information and the process to be more electronic.
'Law firms are already starting to utilise electronic signatures, but now that the Law Commission has confirmed that they meet legal requirements, we should hopefully see these become widely adopted in firms, enabling overall efficiency, increasing the speed of transactions and improving the customer experience.'
The consultation ends on 23 November 2018.
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