Table of Contents -- Abbreviations 17 -- Introduction 19 -- Part I: Electronic signatures, from technology to law 21 -- Chapter 1: Signatures 21 -- A. The electronic environment 21 -- I. Identity of the person 21 -- II. Integrity of the document 23 -- III. Confidentiality of communications 24 -- B. Electronic signatures 25 -- I. Signatures 26 -- 1. Concept of signature 26 -- 2. Functions of signatures 27 -- 3. Terminology 30 -- II. Electronic signature techniques 31 -- III. Digital signatures 33 -- 1. Cryptography 33 -- a) Symmetric cryptography 34 -- b) Asymmetric or public key cryptography 35 -- 2. Cryptography applied to digital signatures 36 -- 3. Functioning of digital signatures 38 -- a) Creation of the digital signature 38 -- b) Verification of the digital signature 39 -- 4. Public Key Infrastructure 40 -- 5. Strengths and weaknesses of digital signatures 42 -- C. Conclusions 44 -- Chapter 2: The legal approach to electronic signatures 47 -- A. The legal question 47 -- I. The need to regulate 47 -- II. The goal of legal regulation 48 -- B. The different legal approaches 50 -- I. The digital signature, mandatory or prescriptive approach 51 -- II. The minimalist or enabling approach 51 -- III. The hybrid or two-tier approach 52 -- C. Technology neutrality in electronic signature statutes 53 -- D. Conclusions 55 -- Part II: Electronic signature legislation 57 -- Chapter 3: The United States of America 57 -- A. UETA and E-Sign 57 -- B. Validity of electronic signatures 60 -- I. Recognition of electronic signatures 60 -- II. Concept of electronic signature 61 -- III. Exclusion of electronic signatures 62 -- 1. UETA 63 -- 2. E-Sign 63 -- C. Conclusions 64 -- Chapter 4: The European Union and Germany 67 -- A. Electronic Signatures Directive 67 -- I. Concept of electronic signature 68 -- 1. Electronic signatures 68.

2. Advanced electronic signatures 70 -- 3. Advanced electronic signatures based on qualified certificates created using a secure-signature-creation device 70 -- a) Qualified certificate 70 -- b) Secure-signature-creation device 72 -- II. Value of electronic signatures 73 -- III. Recognition of foreign electronic signatures 75 -- IV. Review of the implementation of electronic signatures in the EU 76 -- V. Writing requirement 76 -- B. Legal framework of electronic signatures in Germany 78 -- I. German Digital Signature Act 78 -- II. Transposition of the Electronic Signatures Directive 79 -- 1. Concept of electronic signature 79 -- 2. Legal value of electronic signatures 80 -- 3. Foreign electronic signatures 81 -- 4. Licensing of certification authorities 82 -- C. Conclusions 82 -- Chapter 5: Argentina 83 -- A. Norms before the enactment of the Argentine Digital Signature Act 83 -- I. Resolution 45/1997 of the Secretary of Public Function 83 -- II. Resolution 293/1997 of the Superintendence of Retirement and Pension Fund Administrators 83 -- III. Executive Order 427/1998 84 -- IV. Resolution 4536/1999 of the Secretary of Communications 85 -- V. Executive Order 1023/2001 85 -- B. Argentine Digital Signature Act 86 -- I. Legislative process of the Argentine Digital Signature Act 86 -- 1. Congressional debate 86 -- a) House of Representatives 86 -- b) Senate 89 -- 2. Promulgation 89 -- II. Scope 89 -- III. Digital signatures 90 -- 1. Concept of digital signature 90 -- 2. Validity requirements 92 -- a) A valid digital certificate 92 -- b) Created while the digital certificate is in force 94 -- c) Due verification 94 -- IV. Electronic signatures 94 -- V. Legal value of digital and electronic signatures 95 -- 1. Compliance with the legal requirement of a signature 95 -- 2. Legal presumptions 97 -- a) Authorship presumption 98 -- b) Integrity presumption 98.

c) Sender presumption 98 -- VI. Digital or electronic document 99 -- VII. Exclusions from the Argentine Digital Signature Act 100 -- 1. Dispositions in case of death 101 -- 2. Acts relating to family law 102 -- 3. Acts of a personal character 102 -- 4. Acts incompatible with the use of digital signatures 102 -- VIII. Foreign signatures and foreign certificates 103 -- IX. Public Key Infrastructure 104 -- 1. Application authority 104 -- 2. Licensing entity 105 -- 3. Licensed certifiers 105 -- 4. Advisory Commission for Digital Signature Infrastructure 106 -- C. Conclusions 107 -- Chapter 6: The work of national and international institutions 109 -- I. UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce 110 -- II. UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures 114 -- 1. Background 114 -- 2. Goals and principles 118 -- 3. Electronic signatures 119 -- 4. Recognition of foreign electronic signatures and foreign certificates 122 -- 5. Effect on national legislation 125 -- III. United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts 125 -- IV. Signature requirement in United Nations conventions 128 -- 1. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 128 -- 2. United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea 128 -- 3. United Nations Convention on International Bills of Exchange and International Promissory Notes 129 -- 4. United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade 129 -- B. Other organizations 129 -- I. International Chamber of Commerce 129 -- II. Internet Law & Policy Forum 130 -- III. American Bar Association 131 -- C. Conclusions 131 -- Part III: Electronic signatures and international contracts 133 -- Chapter 7: General aspects of international contracts 134 -- A. The international contract 134 -- I. Concept 134.

II. Elements determining the internationality of a contract 135 -- 1. Domicile of the parties 136 -- 2. Place of contracting or execution 137 -- 3. Place of performance 137 -- 4. The economic criterion 137 -- 5. Nationality of the parties 138 -- 6. Choice of law provision 139 -- B. The laws governing substance and form 139 -- I. Formal validity 140 -- II. The law applicable to the contract 142 -- C. Conclusions 146 -- Chapter 8: The international contract in international legal instruments 147 -- A. Convention on the Law Applicable to International Sales of Goods 148 -- I. Background 148 -- II. International contracts 148 -- III. Formal validity 149 -- IV. Applicable law 149 -- B. United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 150 -- I. Background 150 -- II. International contracts 152 -- III. Formal validity 152 -- IV. Applicable law 153 -- C. Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations 156 -- I. Background 156 -- II. International contracts 157 -- III. Formal validity 158 -- IV. Applicable law 159 -- 1. Party autonomy 160 -- 2. Choice of law rules 163 -- a) General presumption 163 -- i) The characteristic performance 164 -- ii) The habitual residence or central administration 165 -- iii) The time of execution of the contract 165 -- b) Other presumptions 166 -- 3. Consumer contracts 166 -- a) Concept of consumer contract 166 -- b) Article 5.2 consumer contracts 166 -- c) Freedom of choice 167 -- d) Absence of choice 168 -- D. Convention on the Law Applicable to Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 168 -- I. Background 168 -- II. International contracts 168 -- III. Formal validity 169 -- IV. Applicable law 169 -- E. Inter-American Convention on the Law Applicable to International Contracts 170 -- I. Background 170 -- II. International contracts 170 -- III. Formal validity 171.

IV. Applicable law 171 -- F. UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 172 -- I. Background 172 -- II. International contracts 173 -- III. Formal validity 173 -- IV. Applicable law 173 -- G. United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts 175 -- I. Background 175 -- II. International contracts 175 -- III. Formal validity 176 -- IV. Applicable law 177 -- H. Conclusions 178 -- Chapter 9: The international contract under domestic law 181 -- A. Argentine law 181 -- I. International contracts 181 -- II. Formal validity 184 -- III. Applicable law 185 -- 1. Party autonomy 185 -- 2. Absence of a choice of law 186 -- 3. Place of performance 188 -- 4. Jurisprudence 190 -- IV. Contracts between absent and present parties 192 -- B. German law 194 -- I. International contracts 194 -- II. Formal validity 195 -- III. Applicable law 198 -- C. US law 200 -- I. International contracts 200 -- II. Formal validity 200 -- III. Applicable law 200 -- D. Conclusions 202 -- Chapter 10: The interaction of electronic signature legislation 203 -- A. Argentine law governing the form 203 -- I. Formal requirements under Argentine law 203 -- II. The Argentine Digital Signature Act in international contracts 208 -- 1. Argentine and US law 208 -- 2. Argentine and German law 211 -- III. The Argentine Digital Signature Act in domestic contracts 213 -- 1. Digital signatures in the legal sense 213 -- 2. Digital signatures in the technical sense (electronic signatures) 214 -- 3. Electronic signature 215 -- B. German law governing the form 215 -- I. Form requirements under German law 215 -- II. Written form required by law and the Argentine Digital Signature Act 219 -- 1. Foreign certification-service-provider accredited in the European Union 220.

2. Certification-service-provider domiciled in a EU member state guarantees the certificate 221.