What legal basis is to consider electronic document legally significant?

The main organizational and legal principles of electronic document circulation and the use of electronic documents in Ukraine are regulated

• Civil Code of Ukraine,
• The Law of Ukraine " On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management " dated May 22, 2003 No. 851-IV (hereinafter - Law 851 ),
• The Law of Ukraine " On Electronic Commerce " dated September 3, 2015 No. 675-VIII (hereinafter - Law 675 ),
• The Law of Ukraine " On Electronic Trust Services " dated October 5, 2017 No. 2155-VIII (hereinafter - Law 2155 ),
• The standard instruction on documenting management information in electronic form and organizing work with electronic documents in record keeping, electronic interdepartmental exchange, approved by Resolution No. 55 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated January 17, 2018 (hereinafter referred to as the Standard Instruction).

According to Part 1 of Article 5 of Law 851 , an electronic document is a document in which information is recorded in the form of electronic data, including mandatory document details. Part 1 of Article 6 of the Law establishes that the creation of an electronic document is completed by the imposition of an electronic signature. Accordingly, one of the most important details of an electronic document, after which it receives the status of a document, is the electronic signature affixed to it.

 

In accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine" No. 996-XIV of July 16, 1999 and the Regulation on Documentary Support of Accounting Records, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine 5/24/199 5 No. 88, primary documents must have the following obligations necessary details: the name of the company, institution on whose behalf the document is drawn up, name of the document (form), date of compilation, the content and scope of the business transaction, the unit of measurement of an economic operation (in natural and/or value terms), positions and names of persons responsible for the implementation of the economic transaction and the correctness of its registration, a personal signature or other data that make it possible to identify a person who participated in the implementation of an economic transaction. Depending on the nature of the operation and data processing technology, additional details may be included in the primary documents: identification code of the business entity from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations, document number, the basis for carrying out transactions, data on the document certifying the identity of the recipient, etc. (clause 2.4 of Regulation No. 88).

 

Part 1 of Article 8 of Law 851 clearly defines the status and legal force of an electronic document. Yes, 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.

Part 1 of Article 5 of Law 675, which entered into force on September 30, 2015, enshrines the principle of the same legal force of electronic transactions and transactions concluded in another form provided for by law, and according to Part 3 of the mentioned article, the transaction cannot be declared invalid in connection with in connection with its execution in electronic form , unless otherwise provided by law.

That is, a business entity has the right to use documents in electronic form in its activities in compliance with Laws No. 851 and No. 2155, which regulate relations related to electronic document circulation and the use of electronic documents.

In turn, the Standard Instruction defines the procedure for documenting management information in institutions, using a qualified electronic signature, a qualified electronic seal, and a qualified electronic time stamp, except in cases where there are reasonable grounds for documenting management information in paper form.

 

Therefore, the legal grounds for considering electronic documents as legally significant are Part 1 of Article 5, 6 and 8 of the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management", provided that there are mandatory document details, in particular those specified in Part 2 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine" and other requirements of current legislation.