26 No. 23708 Act No. 25,2002 GOVERNMENT 2GAZETTE, AUGUST 2002 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSACTIONS ACT, 2002 Signature 13. (1) Where the signature of a person is required by law and such law does not specify the type of signature, that requirement in relation to a data message is met only if an advanced electronic signature is used. (2) Subject to subsection ( I ) . an electronic signature is not without legal force and 5 effect merely on the grounds that it is in electronic form. (3) Where an electronic signatureis required by the parties to an electronic transaction and the parties have not agreed on the type of electronic signature to be used, that requirement is met in relation to a data message if( a ) a method is used to identify the person and to indicate the person’s approval 10 of the information communicated: and (6) having regard to all the relevant circumstances at the time the method was used, the method was as reliable as was appropriate for the purposes for which the information was communicated. (4) Where an advanced electronic signature has been used, such signature is regarded 15 as being a valid electronicsignature and to have been applied properly, unless the contrary is proved. ( 5 ) Where an electronicsignature is not required by theparties to an electronic transaction, an expression of intent or other statement is not without legal force and effect merely on the grounds that20 (a) it is in the form of a data message; or (b) it is not evidenced by an electronic signature but is evidenced by other means from which such person’s intent or other statement can be inferred. Original 14. ( 1 ) Where a law requires infornlation to be presented or retained in its original 25 form, that requirement is met by a data message if(a) the integrity of the information from the time when it was first generated in its final form as a data message or otherwise has passed assessment in terms of subsection (2); and ( h ) that information is capable of being displayed or produced to the person to 30 whom it is to be presented. (2) For the purposes of subsection I(a), the integrity must be assessed( a ) by considering whether the information has remained complete and unaltered. except for theaddition of any endorsement and any change which arisesin the normal course of communication, storage and display: 35 (0) in the !ight of the purpose for which the information was generated; and (c) having regard to all other relevant circumstances. Admissibility and evidential weightof data messages 15. (1) In any legal proceedings. the rules of evidence must not be applied so as to deny the admissibility data of a message. in evidence40 ( a ) on the mere grounds that it is constituted by a data message; or (0) if it is the best evidence that the person adducing it couldreasonablybe expected to obtain, on the grounds that it is not in its original form. ( 2 ) Information in the form of a data message must be given due evidential weight. (3) In assessing the evidential weight of a data message, regard must be had to45 ( a ) the reliability of the manner in which the data message was generated, stored or communicated; ( b ) the reliability of the manner in which the integrity of the data message was maintained: (c) the manner in which its originator was identified; and 50 (d) any other relevant factor.