Please note this interesting message from the ECUP list. A proposal for a
Directive is a long way from UK law, but note the following paragraph from
the web summary:
"Legal recognition: the proposal would stipulate that an electronic
signature could not be legally discriminated against solely on the grounds
that it is in electronic form, as the legal effects of electronic
signatures are essential for an open and trustworthy system for electronic
signatures. If a certificate and the service provider met certain
essential requirements, electronic signatures based on their service would
benefit from an automatic assumption that they were legally recognised in
the same manner as hand-written signatures. Furthermore they could be used
as evidence in legal proceedings."
To me this seems to imply that the UK Copyright requirement that ILL
request forms must be signed in writing would need to be extended (or
would perhaps automatically be extended) to include electronic signatures.
It's not clear how liberal an interpretation is required of electornic
signatures; is this restricted to strong technologies like certificates,
or will a username/password or borrower-id/PIN combination be acceptable?
At the very least it looks like a stupid, out-moded legal requirement
preventing desktop access to ILLS may EVENTUALLY be on its way out.
----- Forwarded message from Emanuella Giavarra -----
Dear list members,
The European Commisson (DGXV) adopted on 13 May 1998 a proposal for a
Directive on the use of electronic signatures. This document is now
available on-line and in several languages.
This proposal for a Directive follows the Communication of November 1996
on ensuring security and trust in electronic services, and was foreseen
under the Action Plan for the Single Market endorsed by the Amsterdam
European Council (June 1997).
The main elements of the proposed Directive includes:
* Essential requirements for electronic signature certificates and
certification services;
* The establishment of minimum liability rules for service providers;
* Legal recognition for electronic signatures in the same manner as
handwritten signatures;
The document and a press release can be found at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg15/en/media/infso/sign.htm
Kind regards,
Emanuella Giavarra
----- End of forwarded message from Emanuella Giavarra -----
--
Chris Rusbridge
Programme Director, Electronic Libraries Programme
The Library, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Phone 01203 524979 Fax 01203 524981
Email [log in to unmask]
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