August 1, 2001 - The Panamanian President, Mireya Moscoso, signed into Law Bill N°112 "which defines and regulates electronic documents and signatures, certification entities and exchange of electronic documents".
The new law grants electronic documents and signatures the same validity as written documents, in order for merchants and users to be able to conduct online transactions in a reliable and efficient manner. One of the obstacles to true e-commerce transactions in Panama had been the requirement of written acceptance by users of terms and conditions under traditional Civil Law, in order for transactions to be enforceable in case of disputes. Local e-merchants had to rely on written waivers of claims from buyers or good faith.
