3 A BILL To provide for an appropriate legal framework to facilitate electronic transactions and communications by regulating electronic records and electronic signatures and the security thereof ENACTED by the Parliament of Mauritius, as follows PART I - PRELIMINARY 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Electronic Transactions Act 2000. 2. Interpretation In this Act "asymmetric cryptosystem" means a system capable of generating a secure key pair, consisting of a private key for creating a digital signature, and a public key to verify the digital signature; "authorised officer" means a person authorised by the Controller under section 42; "automated transaction" means a transaction conducted or performed, in whole or in part, by electronic means or electronic records, in which the acts or records of one or both parties are not reviewed by an individual in the ordinary course in forming a contract, performing under an existing contract, or fulfilling an obligation required by the transaction; "certificate" means a record issued by a certification authority for the purpose of supporting digital signatures which purports to confirm the identity or other significant characteristics of the person who holds a particular key pair; "certification authority" means a person duly authorised under this Act to issue a certificate; "certification practice statement" means a statement issued by a certification authority to specify the practices that the certification authority employs in issuing certificates; "Controller" means the person appointed to the office of Controller of Certification Authorities;