Advocatetanmoy Law Library
Judge Emad Abdullah – SJC Iraq
23/01/2019
It is not familiar , the world changes toward the digital world and no longer the only written documents are in evidence field. The e-documents took the large area in all fields and it requires to enact laws coping with the development in digital and information revolution. The information technology becomes the basic for the modern communities. In the past, the formal and ordinary documents were written on the papers and by letters of the contractors language or the language that has been based on the editorials of the contractors so that the use of electronic methods to write the documents raises a question of consideration of the electronic document of the electronic media. This matter needs to know what is the electronic deed?
In fact, there is no specific definition but there are similar definitions, most of them based on the definition provided in the UNCITRAL Model Law whereas the jurisprudents have taken care and put many definition including, the electronic deed is a message contains information that arises or integrated or preserve or totally or partially sent or received by electronic, digital or optical way or any other similar means.
The Iraqi lawmaker defines the e-document in law No.(78)of 2012 the law of electronic signature and transaction as the documents that arise or integrated or preserved or totally or partially sent or received by electronic means including the exchange of electronic data or e-mail or telex which is electronically signed. The article (13) of said law refers to the authenticity of this documents and the ways to prove them
The item first of it stipulates that the electronic documents, writing and contracts have the same legal force of those papers if the following conditions are provided
a. The information provided by are able to be preserved and stored and can be restore at any time.
b. The ability of preservation them as they are and the ability to be sent or received in any way to prove the precise of the information provided in at the time of creation or send or receipt them without amending or adding or omitting.
c. The information shall indicate the person who set or receives them and the date and time of send and receipt.
Third: the singed or addressee may prove the document authenticity via all other methods of proof.
No doubt the writing document was considered the most powerful among the evidences of proof before the digital revolution because all laws handle the writing documents as the most powerful proof that submit to the judge . This matter is no longer existed under the modern technology and revolution of information and communication which result in new proof that is electronic contract and signature.