The validity of a printed electronic signature
The Electronic Business and Electronic Signature Act and Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 state that a qualified electronic signature (e.g. an electronic signature, created on the basis of a qualified certificate, which meets certain conditions, for example the data of both the signatory and the issuer, an identification code, etc. and is created by advanced electronic signature means) has the same validity as a handwritten signature. That means that it is possible to sign any document (even a contract) with a qualified electronic signature when it’s »on a computer« (in digital form) and it will have the same evidential value as a document bearing a handwritten signature. A digital signature usually requires the signatory to confirm his identity (usually by requiring a password). This identification data (excluding the password, of course!) is usually added digitally to the signature. Regardless of the above, an electronic signature shall not be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence even if it does not meet the requirements for a qualified electronic signature, for instance if it was not created by advanced electronic signature means.
The electronic signature is afforded validity basically owing to this data, as it is linked to it and accessible upon opening the electronic (digital) version of the document – it is digitally read; but when the document is printed, the data which ensures the signature’s validity becomes inaccessible and cannot be digitally read. The printed version of the document does not include all the information required for the electronic signature to be defined as a qualified electronic signature and have the same validity as a handwritten signature. As a result, a printed copy of a document signed with an electronic signature does not have the same validity as a document bearing a handwritten signature.
Modern technology has already solved the above-mentioned problem by connecting the digital electronic signature data to a printed copy of the signed document and in doing so preserving the validity of a printed electronic signature on the printed copy of a document: the printed copy must contain a link to the digital copy, which includes all the data necessary for verifying the electronic signature. The validity of a printed electronic signature with an electronic signature in digital format can be verified by using (reading) printed 2D symbols (for example QR or DataMatrix codes), which create a link to digital data. Next to the signature is a symbol, which can be read by using an appropriate application and contains all the information necessary to give validity to a qualified electronic signature.
Therefore, if you wish to ensure the validity of an electronic signature on printed copies of documentation that was digitally signed, check that the use of the relevant applications is enabled (particular care should be taken regarding the option to read and store the necessary data to ensure the validity of the electronic signature later on) that allow the connection between the printed electronic signature and its digital version, thus making the signature verifiable. The foregoing must be in place before applying the electronic signature itself.
Author: Tina Marciuš Ravnikar, Associate
