eSignature Legality Summary
eSignatures are legally valid and admissible in the court of law. Jordan 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, (established in 2001) 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). As a general rule, and in essence, e-signatures have been granted the same and equal weight age provided to traditional written signatures6 as long as both forms of signing off fulfil the standard parameters of signatures.
An e-signature would have the “the validity of a written signature” if the signature so made or presented is able to withstand scrutiny in a court of law without the support of a subsequent written signature.
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.
A. Contracts and documents, and the documents issued according to special legislations and in a certain way and are of specific actions, including:
1. Create and modify the commandment.
2. Create and modify endowment conditions.
3. Dispose of immovable properties transactions, including powers of attorney , bond of ownership and the creation of thier1223 rights assigned except for leases relating to such properties.
4. Powers of attorney and transactions relating to civil status.
5. Notices relating to cancel or rescind water, electricity and health insurance contracts.
6. Roll of actions and pleadings, notices and court decisions.
B. Securities, unless those of special regulations as issued by the competent authorities pursuant to Securities Law in force. Most of the laws have applied these exceptions mentioned in Article (6) of the Jordanian Electronic Transactions Act.
The Law excludes creating and amending a will, establishing an andowment and amending its provisions, transactions related to movable and immovable assets that require regulations for their registration including agency documents, titles of ownership, the establishment of in-kind rights, agencies and transactions related to personal status, notifications concerning cancellation and breach of contracts that are related to water and electricity services, medical and life insurance services. The law also excluded lawsuits, pleadings, judicial reporting notice, court decisions, and securities (stock, etc.).
List of Local Trust Service Providers
| Institute | Regulatory Body/CA/DSC Providers | Supported by emSigner |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan National Root CA | Controller of Certification Authorities | Yes |
| Jordan National Policy CA | CA | Yes |
| Jordan National Issuing CA | CA | Yes |
“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
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