3. Where the law requires that a communication or a contract should be signed by a
party, or provides consequences for the absence of a signature, that requirement is met
in relation to an electronic communication if:
(a) A method is used to identify the party and to indicate that party’s intention
in respect of the information contained in the electronic communication;
and
(b) The method used is either:
(i) As reliable as appropriate for the purpose for which the electronic
communication was generated or communicated, in the light of all the
circumstances, including any relevant agreement; or
(ii) Proven in fact to have fulfilled the functions described in subparagraph (a)
above, by itself or together with further evidence.
4. Where the law requires that a communication or a contract should be made
available or retained in its original form, or provides consequences for the absence of
an original, that requirement is met in relation to an electronic communication if:
(a) There exists a reliable assurance as to the integrity of the information it
contains from the time when it was first generated in its final form, as an
electronic communication or otherwise; and
(b) Where it is required that the information it contains be made available, that
information is capable of being displayed to the person to whom it is to be
made available.
5. For the purposes of paragraph 4 (a):
(a) The criteria for assessing integrity shall be whether the information has
remained complete and unaltered, apart from the addition of any endorsement
and any change that arises in the normal course of communication, storage and
display; and
(b) The standard of reliability required shall be assessed in the light of the
purpose for which the information was generated and in the light of all the
relevant circumstances.
Article 10
Time and place of dispatch and receipt of electronic communications
1. The time of dispatch of an electronic communication is the time when it leaves an
information system under the control of the originator or of the party who sent it on
behalf of the originator or, if the electronic communication has not left an information
system under the control of the originator or of the party who sent it on behalf of the
originator, the time when the electronic communication is received.
2. The time of receipt of an electronic communication is the time when it becomes
capable of being retrieved by the addressee at an electronic address designated by the
addressee. The time of receipt of an electronic communication at another electronic
address of the addressee is the time when it becomes capable of being retrieved by the
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