Qualified electronic signature and what you need to know about it?

The world is gradually transitioning to online mode, and at the same time, Ukraine has embarked on a new path of development, where jurisprudence closely intersects with innovation, adopting in 2003 and 2004 laws on electronic documents ( hereinafter - ED ) and electronic digital signature.

Over the years, this area of jurisprudence has developed rapidly and the period of mass use of EDS and ED has come.

On November 7, 2018, the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Trust Services" dated October 5, 2018, which established the concept of a qualified electronic signature, entered into force.

It would be appropriate for everyone to know basic things about these concepts, because it is quite possible that very soon most contracts will be concluded in electronic form. Many organizations in Ukraine already allow the client to use a qualified electronic signature. One of the most convenient services is InStaCo.

What is a qualified electronic signature and what is it eaten with?

According to Art. 1 of the Law "On Electronic Trust Services", a qualified electronic signature is an advanced electronic signature that is created using the means of a qualified electronic signature and is based on a qualified public key certificate.

Advanced electronic signature - an electronic signature created as a result of the cryptographic transformation of electronic data with which this electronic signature is associated, using the tool of advanced electronic signature and a personal key uniquely associated with the signatory, and which enables the electronic identification of the signatory and detect a violation of the integrity of the electronic data with which this electronic signature is associated.

From the above, it is quite clear what a qualified electronic signature is and that it is used instead of a signature in electronic documents. What are electronic documents used for?

Electronic keys have no restrictions , and therefore can be used in any areas of electronic document management in :

- insurance contracts;

- bank contracts;

- civil documents;

- documents of economic activity;

- electronic lawsuit (in the near future - on June 4, testing of the subsystem of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System (EUITS) , which will allow filing lawsuits electronically) - https://court.gov.ua/press/news/495844

- others.

Legal force of contracts in accordance with the law and in practice.

If 10 years ago there were still issues with the legal force of such documents, now the courts resolve such issues without problems.

Paragraph 3 of Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Trust Services" clearly states: " An electronic signature or seal cannot be recognized as invalid and deprived of the possibility of being considered as evidence in court cases solely on the grounds that they have an electronic form or do not meet the requirements for of a qualified electronic signature or seal " and Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management" states: " The legal force of an electronic document cannot be denied solely because it has an electronic form. The admissibility of an electronic document as evidence cannot be challenged solely on the basis that it is in electronic form ” - this tells us that according to the law.

As for practice, on the example of case 32/14 dated 17.02.09 - http://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/3143495 , it can be seen that the force of such contracts is real and it will be necessary to prove the invalidity of such a contract in accordance with the procedure established by law .

That is why you need to store your key in a safe place, to which only the owner of the key will have access. If the key is used by third parties, it can be very difficult to prove that it was not used by you.

Who, how and where can get a certified electronic signature?

An individual or a legal entity can obtain a qualified electronic signature from a qualified provider of electronic trust services, one of which is any center from the accredited key certification centers (ACCS). Today, there are 24 such centers in Ukraine. Information about them can be obtained from the Electronic Register of entities that provide electronic trust services   on the website of the Central Certification Body of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine , which accredits key certification centers.

In accordance with the legislation in the field of electronic trust services, services are provided by qualified providers of electronic trust services in accordance with work regulations and on the basis of contracts. Information about trusted providers can be found in a special trust list - https://czo.gov.ua/trustedlist

The term of validity of the qualified public key certificate is specified in it, when it has expired, it is necessary to re-obtain services. The reason for this is the information protection requirements that are placed on the means used to impose a signature.

In just a few minutes, you have the opportunity to get a qualified electronic signature on the PrivatBank website in your personal account.

Conclusion.

So what do we have?

- There is a good legal basis for the legal force of the digital signature, which allows us to use it without any risk

- A qualified electronic signature is, in fact, no different in terms of legal force from one's own handwritten signature

- The procedure for obtaining a qualified electronic signature is quite simple and affordable

- There is a lot of judicial practice in this area

The future is moving towards innovation and so is jurisprudence. Therefore, we recommend getting a qualified electronic signature and saving time together with InStaCo

InStaCo

Yurchak Vladyslav