The emergence of a legal framework for electronic transactions

Abstract

The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) is a US based statute drafting organization which currently working on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) as a response to the burgeoning E-commerce activity. This article attempts to put the UETA into perspective, notably in relation to past achievements of the NCCUSL for Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT) legislation, and in contrast with an important digital signature statute that provides legal support for the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) model. The UETA provides a legal framework for E-commerce without designating a particular technology to fulfill the requirements for a “reasonable security procedure”.