Due to the continuous development of technical possibilities and the pandemic situation, the use of various electronic services, including electronic signatures is becoming more and more popular.In our newsletter we provide information about the possibilities and conditions of validity of electronic signatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to the pandemic, travelling possibilities are restricted, and the restrictions are holding back the flow of business. An electronic signature can be of great help in bridging this problem. Its use can facilitate the daily business life, but there are strict conditions for the validity of a signature, as the signature technically is not linked to the person using it, so the provability that the electronic signature was actually placed on the electronic document by an authorized person is particularly important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. THE DEGREES OF SECURITY OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE BASED ON THE LAW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The uniform EU regulation defines (i) electronic\nsignatures, (ii) electronic signatures with advanced security, and (iii)\nqualified electronic signatures. The three categories mean different degrees of\nsecurity of the electronic signature, with different probative force. Thus, in\nthe case of a document affixed with a qualified electronic signature, the\ncourts presume that the document was signed by the person named in the\nsignature, while in the case of a simple electronic signature, the document is\nonly considered as a written instrument, but is not associated with the legal\neffect of a private document with full probative value. The reason for the\ndifferentiation is the usability in different situations; for example, an\nelectronic signature with advanced security may be appropriate for issuing a\nstatement within an organization, but the use of a qualified electronic\nsignature may be required towards third parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to enable an executive officer of the company\nto sign on behalf of the company by an authorised electronic signature, it is\nnecessary as a general rule to have a qualified electronic signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the record of a qualified electronic signature in the company register, the preparation of a specimen of the electronic signature, which can only be made by a public notary. Based on this, at the request of the company, the company register may also contain the specimen of the electronic signature of the person entitled to sign on behalf of the company, which certifies that the given certificate is an authorised electronic signature of the representant. If the electronic signature of the given person is also indicated in the company register, the authenticity of the signature is certified by the registry excerpt of the company and no further certification is required to either a Hungarian or a foreign party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the framework of the uniform regulation of the\nEuropean Union, a specific register lists the service providers that are\nmutually recognized by the Member States for cross-border authentication; thus,\nin the course of company registration proceedings in Hungary, even a qualified\nelectronic signature provided by a trust service provider operating under the\nlaws of another Member State may be used. The list of these service providers\nis available at https:\/\/webgate.ec.europa.eu\/tl-browser\/#\/. In Hungary, three\nservice providers provide qualified electronic signatures, these are NISZ Zrt,\nNetlock Kft and Microsec Zrt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The registration of an electronic qualified signature\nof a company into the companies\u2019 register requires three steps: 1. concluding a\ncontract with the appropriate service provider; 2. preparation of an electronic\nspecimen of signature certified before a public notary; and 3. conducting the\nregistration procedure at the court of registration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is important to emphasize that an electronic signature with adequate security (qualified signature) is valid even if it is not registered in the company register, however, in this case the proof of authenticity may be required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. THE DEGREES OF SECURITY OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE BASED ON THE LAW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the above, an important alternative of\nsigning with a qualified electronic signature is when the rules of signing\nelectronically is regulated by the concluding parties in their contract or it\nis set out in the general terms and conditions. On this basis, an electronic\nsignature can be endowed with the probative value corresponding to the\nqualified electronic signature, even if it is not meeting the necessary\nrequirements regulated in the relevant provisions of law. If the use of any\ntype of electronic signature is thus recorded in a paper-based contract, as a\nsignature having full probative value between the parties, it has to be\nrecognized by the courts in relation to the parties concerned, that the\nsubsequent documents signed electronically are authentic and legally binding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The possibility of electronic signatures and company\nsignatures greatly facilitates the stationary case management and the\nuninterrupted course of the proceedings caused by the epidemic situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This summary is intended to\nraise awareness and does not constitute legal advice.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Should you have any further question or need assistance in<\/em><\/strong> the company procedure concerning electronic signature, or the preparation of the relevant contractual clauses, please do not hesitate to contact us.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Due to the continuous development of technical possibilities and the pandemic situation, the use of various electronic services, including electronic signatures is becoming more and more popular.<\/p>\n In our newsletter we provide information about the possibilities and conditions of validity of electronic signatures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2020,"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2018\/revisions\/2020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gerey.hu\/EU\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}