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Conclusion
Electronic signatures make business transactions over the Internet easier and
more reliable for both businesses and consumers. The UAE law has authorized
the use of electronic signatures and electronic records to create binding agree-
ments and made it clear that no electronic signature can be refused legal effect
merely on the grounds that it is in electronic form. It has also declared the func-
tional equivalence of the electronic with the hand-written signature as a generic
matter together with its admissibility as a measure of proof. There are, however,
specific categories of transactions and documents for which electronic signatures
may not be used. These include transactions pertaining to personal law such as
marriage, divorce and wills, as well as deeds of title to immovable property, and
negotiable instruments.
Emad Dahiyat, The Legal Recognition of Electronic Signatures in Jordan:
Some Remarks on the Electronic Transactions Law, Arab Law Quarterly 25 (2011),
p. 298.
For more information, see Thomas J. Smedinghoff & Ruth Hill Bro, ‘Moving with
change: Electronic signature legislation as a vehicle for advancing e-commerce’,
17 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. (1999) 723, p. 730.
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July 2018
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