Article 10

What it means when you sign

This article confirms that contracts can be made electronically. For contracting purposes, offer and acceptance may be expressed electronically. A contract does not lose its validity, evidential weight or enforceability merely because it is made in the form of one or more electronic documents.

The article protects the electronic form only. It does not say that every electronic contract is valid whatever its content. A contract still has to meet the other legal requirements. What it rules out is treating a contract as invalid or weaker as evidence only because it was made electronically.

When you are about to sign a contract online, by email or through an electronic platform, this article means that clicking to accept or sending an acceptance electronically can form a binding agreement. A clause that says the contract is not binding because it was made electronically, or that only paper contracts count, may run into this article. A party may not be able to escape the contract merely on the ground that the form was electronic.