E-Sign and the Law
Electronic signatures for use within financial services, insurance, sales, equipment leasing, legal, human resources, purchase and procurement, real estate, and property management industries and functional areas, among other uses.
The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union under the Electronic Identification and Trust Services for electronic transactions (eIDAS) details the governance of electronic signatures. It discusses the different types of electronic signatures and establishes a legal framework. This regulation defines an electronic signature as data in electronic form that is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign. The regulation also defines qualified trust service providers who issue digital certificates. A qualified trust service provider is one who provides one or more qualified trust services and is granted the qualified status by the supervisory body.
The regulation in Switzerland is largely similar to eIDAS which allows a supplementary type eSignature that falls somewhere between qualified and advanced eSignature.
eIDAS regulation has basically classified electronic signatures into three primary types SES, AES, and QES. These are authentication and assurance levels that facilitate a common standard across EU member countries.
Simple eSignature (SES): A simple electronic signature means “data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign” which essentially means that it accepts scanned signatures and ticks in checkboxes in webpages that are generally used to accept terms and conditions, etc.
Advanced eSignature (AES): An advanced electronic signature should be uniquely linked to, and is capable of identifying the signatory. It is created using electronic signature creation data that the signatory can, with a high level of confidence, use under his sole control and is linked to the data signed therewith in such a way that any subsequent change in the data is detectable.
Qualified eSignature (QES): This electronic signature is created by a qualified electronic signature creation device, and which is based on a qualified certificate for electronic signatures. This is backed by a qualified certificate issued by a qualified trust service provider. This signature has to abide by the requirements laid down under Article 28 of the regulation of the European Parliament.
RPost electronic signatures available in both RSign and RMail services qualify as legal electronic signatures under the regulatory frameworks in Switzerland of the Swiss Federal Act on Electronic Signatures (FAES a/k/a ZertES) in the Simple Electronic Signature (SES) and Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) categories of electronic signatures.
Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC.
