Dropbox Sign international eSignature legality guide

As a member state of the European Union, Slovakia follows eIDAS, the legal framework that recognizes eSignatures as legally valid in the EU.

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eIDAS applied to Slovakia in 2016 and states that “An electronic signature shall not be denied legal effect and admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the grounds that it is in an electronic form or that it does not meet the requirements for qualified electronic signatures.” Following the eIDAS regulation, eSignatures are now legally valid in all EU member states.

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Electronic signature law

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (the “eIDAS Regulation”)

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Are eSignatures legal, admissible, and enforceable?

Yes.

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Summary of law

The eIDAS regulation defines three types of eSignature (SES, AES, QES) and is a new regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the European Single Market. It establishes a legal framework for people, companies (in particular small to mid-size enterprises) and public administrations to safely access services and execute transactions digitally across all the EU member states.

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eIDAS entered into force on 17 September 2014 and applied from 1 July 2016. It repealed and replaced the Electronic Signatures Directive 1999/93/EC, a European Union directive on the use of eSignatures in electronic contracts within the EU.

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SES(Standard Electronic Signature)

SES는 문서 등의 다른 전자 데이터에 논리적으로 연결된 전자 데이터로, 전자 데이터의 서명인이 문서에 서명하는 데 사용하는 데이터를 말합니다. SES에는 비밀번호, PIN 코드, 스캔한 서명 등 다양한 전자 도구가 포함될 수 있습니다.

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AES(Advanced Electronic Signature)

AES는 반드시 서명인과 독자적으로 연결된 서명이어야 하며, 서명인의 신원을 식별할 수 있는 것이어야 합니다. 이 서명은 서명인이 단독으로 사용한다고 확신할 수 있는 전자 서명 생성 데이터로 만들어야 합니다.

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QES(Qualified Electronic Signature)

A qualified electronic signature (QES) is a stricter form of AES and the only signature type given the same legal value as handwritten signatures. It is an advanced electronic signature with a qualified digital certificate that has been created by a qualified signature creation device (QSCD). The QSCD has to be issued by a qualified EU Trust Service Provider (TSP) on the European Union Trust List (EUTL.)

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Key Restrictions

The law does not exclude specific types of agreements. However, certain types of agreements such as wills, court documents, land titles, may still require written, paper communications.