Electronic Documents and Signatures Law (EDS Law) of Macao SAR (Law no. 5/2005) establishes the legal regime of electronic documents and signatures. The law has a total of 35 articles, covering the legal value and the evidentiary value of electronic documents and signatures, the qualified electronic signatures, the certification activity, the accreditation requirements and procedures, the obligations and responsibilities of the parties, etc.

 

This law is the cornerstone of the fruitful development of e-Government and e-Commerce in Macao.

 

Qualified Electronic Signature

Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) is an Advanced Electronic Signature based on a Qualified Certificate. A Qualified Certificate must only be issued by a legally accredited Certification Service Provider, through a rigorous authentication process. Qualified Electronic Signature is created using a Secure Signature-Creation Device (SSCD) that , according to current internationally recognised standards, is capable of assuring effective protection of the signature against forgery.

 

According to the EDS Law, an Electronic Document that can be represented as a written statement, signed with a Qualified Electronic Signature, has full evidentiary value of the declarations attributed to its signatory.

 

Advanced Electronic Signature

Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) means an Electronic Signature that is uniquely linked to the signatory, is capable of identifying him, is created using means that he can maintain under his sole control and is linked to the data to which relates in such a manner that any subsequent change of the data is detectable.

 

The Advanced Electronic Signature may be generated with a Normalised Certificate. Normalised Certificate is a type of electronic certificate that requires face-to-face identity authentication by the applicant before certificate issuance by the Certification Service Provider. If the applicants are outside Macao, the Registration Authority will provide online Identification and Authentication service to those who are eligible.

 

According to the EDS Law, an Electronic Document signed with an AES has legal effectiveness, which is evaluated according to the general legal rules and the agreement of the involved parties.

 

Electronic Signature

Electronic Signature (ES) means data in electronic form which are attached to or logically associated with other electronic data and which serve as a method of authentication.

 

The EDS Law provides legal support for the electronic signature.