Contracting and Digital Signature

Two possible areas of dispute, when attempting to enforce an online contract are:

• a sender denying that a message stored on the recipient's computer was actually sent by him or her; and
• a sender admits he or she sent a message but denies that the content of the message stored on the recipient's computer corresponds with the message actually sent.

If the existence or terms of an online contract are called into question, the issue may arise whether the electronically-stored evidence is admissible and, if so, whether it is reliable. With the advent of the Electronic Transaction Ordinance, these issues appear to have been settled.

Under the Ordinance, computer generated evidence is admissible in Hong Kong. The Ordinance affords statutory recognition for electronic records in certain circumstances where writing is otherwise required by law. The provisions provide that an electronic record shall not be denied admissibility in evidence on the sole ground that it is an electronic record. The Ordinance further accommodates the issues of the reliability of computer-generated evidence, outlining the circumstances where a digital signature of a person may satisfy the rule of law.