Article 62

What it means when you sign

This article covers the case where nobody can verify whether a piece of electronic evidence is valid, and the reason is not attributable to the parties in the case. When that happens, the court assesses the probative value of the evidence according to the circumstances of the case.

So the article does not say that unverifiable evidence is accepted or rejected automatically. It leaves the weight to the court, to be judged from the facts of the particular case, and it applies only where the failure to verify is not the parties' doing.

When you are about to sign a contract that will be concluded or recorded electronically, this article means that if the validity of an electronic record cannot later be checked for a reason outside the parties' control, its weight will be judged by the court on the circumstances. A clause that sets out how electronic communications are sent, stored and confirmed may help show those circumstances. The article does not tell either party what to do. It only states how the court will treat the evidence in this situation.