Understanding Signing Documents Electronically

Clients often ask about the use of electronic signatures. However, when we delve further into their questions, we tend to find there is a misunderstanding as to precisely what this means. Often what they really mean to ask is whether they can sign a contract with a pen and then fax it, or scan and email it, and whether the copy that is printed at the other end will be effective in the same way as an original. This is something altogether different from an electronic signature.

Thailand has established an excellent framework enabling the use of electronic documents for legal purposes. The primary legislation on this topic is the Electronic Transactions Act (ETA) of 2001. Subject to a few narrow exceptions, the ETA takes the general approach that an offer and acceptance may be expressed in the form of a data message, and that a contract shall not be denied legal effect on the sole ground that the offer or acceptance with respect to that contract was made in the form of