Which contracts cannot be electronically signed with an electronic contract?

The latest revision of the Electronic Signature Law was made on April 23, 2019.

Article 3 of the Electronic Signature Law stipulates that the parties may agree to use or not to use electronic signatures or data messages in contracts or other documents, documents and other documents in civil activities.

Where the parties agree to use electronic signatures or data messages, their legal effect must not be denied solely because they are in the form of electronic signatures or data messages.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to the following instruments:1) Involving personal relationships such as marriage, adoption, or inheritance;

2) Involving the cessation of water supply, heat supply, gas supply and other public utility services;

3) Other situations where electronic documents do not apply as provided for by laws and administrative regulations.

In addition to the three circumstances specified, electronic contract electronic signatures can be used to sign valid contracts and documents.

Article 3 of the Electronic Signature Law stipulates that the signing of contracts in these scenarios does not apply to electronic signatures:

1) Involving personal relationships such as marriage, adoption, or inheritance;

2) Involving the transfer of rights and interests in real estate such as land and housing;

3) Involving the cessation of water supply, heat supply, gas supply, power supply and other public utility services;

4) Other situations where laws and administrative regulations provide that electronic documents do not apply.

In other areas, you can use eSignatures with confidence to make your work easier and more efficient.

Legal Analysis: Electronic Signature Contracts Are Valid. First of all, the law recognizes that a data message signed in the form of electronic data interchange, e-mail, etc., which can tangibly express the content contained therein and can be accessed at any time for reference, is considered to be in writing.

Secondly, the Electronic Signature Law also has provisions on the legality of electronic signatures.

Legal basis: Article 5 of the Electronic Signature Law of the People's Republic of China Data messages that meet the following conditions shall be deemed to meet the requirements of the original form prescribed by laws and regulations:

a) be able to effectively represent the content contained therein and make it readily accessible;

2) It can be reliably guaranteed that the content remains intact and unaltered from the time of its final formation. However, the inclusion of a memorization on a data message and the change in form that occurs during the exchange, storage and display of the data do not affect the integrity of the data message.

Article 469 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China: When parties conclude a contract, they may use written, oral or other forms.

The written form is a form in which the contents of the contract, letter, telegram, telex, fax, etc. can be tangibly expressed.

Data messages that can be tangibly represented in electronic data interchange, e-mail, etc., and that can be accessed at any time shall be deemed to be in writing.

Electronic contracts must be signed electronically.

Electronic signature: a technology, a key technology that needs to be applied to sign an electronic contractIn the Electronic Signature Law of the People's Republic of China, an electronic signature is defined as "the data contained in electronic form in a data message, attached to it for the purpose of identifying the signatory and indicating the signatory's approval of its contents." The traditional paper signature or seal function is realized through technical means to confirm the true identity of the parties to the transaction and ensure the security, authenticity and non-repudiation of the transaction".

Digital signature is currently a relatively mature and most commonly used electronic signature technology, mainly using digital certificate and information encryption technology to ensure that the signature is unique, non-tampering, etc., which can be popularly understood as the "digital fingerprint" stamped on the electronic document, which is one of the cores to ensure the validity of electronic contract signing.

Electronic contracts can of course be signed electronically. Electronic contracts cannot be signed by hand. But electronic contracts come with certain risks. Before signing, it is necessary to have an in-depth understanding of the counterparty of the contract. Otherwise, it is very easy to not ship the goods after payment.

Not only electronic contracts, but also traditional paper contracts are also based on signatures and seals.

In particular, the signature is more effective because the signature itself is an active act that can express recognition of the content of the contract.

Electronic signatures can also reflect this will, input information through handwriting, collect and store it with electronic devices, coupled with the protection of national commercial passwords, to form a credible chain of evidence, which is recognized by the state and the court, and is a strong evidence in disputes.

Law or key law analysis: An electronic contract without a signature is invalid.

Legal basis: Article 2 of the Electronic Signature Law of the People's Republic of China The term "electronic signature" as used in this Law refers to the data contained in electronic form in a data message and attached to it for the purpose of identifying the identity of the signatory and indicating that the signatory acknowledges the contents therein. "Data messages" as used in this Law refers to information generated, sent, received, or stored by electronic, optical, magnetic, or similar means.

1. Is an unsigned electronic contract valid?

1. An electronic contract without a signature is invalid. Online contract signing refers to online signing in the field of e-commerce. In the field of e-commerce, it can also be called electronic contracting, and there are many ways to sign electronic documents online at home and abroad, but most of them do not have legal effect.

2. Legal basis:

According to the Civil Code

Article 490: [Time of Contract Formation] Where the parties conclude a contract in the form of a written contract, the contract shall be concluded when both parties sign, affix their seals, or press their fingerprints. The contract is formed when one of the parties has fulfilled its primary obligations and the other party has accepted it before signing, stamping or fingerprinting.

When laws or administrative regulations stipulate or the parties agree that a contract shall be concluded in written form, and the parties do not use the written form but one party has performed its main obligations and the other party accepts it, the contract shall be established.

2. Does an electronic contract have legal effect without a personal signature?

There are four main elements for a legally effective electronic contract:

1. Real identity (when the electronic signature production data is used for electronic signature, it belongs to the exclusive owner of the electronic signer).

2. True will (the electronic signature production data at the time of signing is only controlled by the electronic signer).

3. The signature has not been changed (any changes to the electronic signature after signing can be found by the side).

4. The original text has not been altered (any changes to the content and form of the data message after signing can be detected).

Legal Analysis: An electronic contract without a signature is invalid.

Legal basis: Article 2 of the Electronic Signature Law of the People's Republic of China The term "electronic signature" in this law refers to the data contained in electronic form in the remorse message of Douhengbi Data and attached to it to identify the identity of the signatory and indicate that the signatory recognizes the content therein. "Data messages" as used in this Law refers to information generated, sent, received, or stored by electronic, optical-space, magnetic, or similar means.