Electronic Contracts and Digital Signatures
E-contracts are agreements formed electronically. Digital signatures provide authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation.
E-Contracts
Same elements as traditional: offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, legality. Click-wrap, browse-wrap, email exchange.
Digital Signatures
Public-key cryptography. Hash document, encrypt with private key. Recipient verifies with public key.
PKI
Certificate Authority issues certificates. Registration Authority verifies identities. CRL tracks revoked certificates.
Legal Recognition
Nepal's ETA gives legal equivalence to digital signatures from licensed CAs.
E-Government
Online tax filing, land records, business registration. National ID system expanding.
Challenges
Digital literacy, infrastructure, trust, interoperability, keeping legislation current.
Summary
E-contracts and digital signatures enable legally binding digital transactions through PKI.