Hoping to give a boost to electronic commerce in Europe, the European Commission has set out a proposal to ensure that digital signatures carry the same legal weight as a hand-written signature across the EC’s 15 member states. Digital signatures are already recognized as legally binding in German courts of law, but most European countries have yet to carve out any laws regarding the technology. The EC hopes that by stepping in now before each member nation has developed its own regulations, it will be able to avoid any sticky inter-country debates over what sort of system to adopt. The EC claims it is trying to take a liberal, flexible approach – the proposal pushes for the legal recognition of electronic signatures regardless of whether they are based on asymmetric cryptography or biometrics. Vague on the subject of certification bodies, the EC said certification services could be offered without prior authorization, with member countries able to set up voluntary accreditation schemes for certification service providers. Certification providers would, however, have to meet as yet unspecified EC requirements. The EC proposal builds in the ability to set up bi- or multilateral agreements to recognize digital signatures from countries outside the EC. A move to broaden the legal acceptance of digital signature would go some way to meeting the demands of institutions such as the Paris based International Chamber of Commerce, which has long been calling for the international recognition of digital signatures as a legal method of signing documents and contracts.
