电子合同形式的“功能等同法”新解

On the Functional Coordinative Approach to Electronic Contracts Format

合同形式直接影响合同的效力和证据地位。目前,关于电子合同形式的界定有不同观点,其中功能等同法是国际上立法实践中流行的做法,但国内学界对此法认识存在误区。功能等同法并没有直接规定电子合同具有与书面合同同等的效力,而是旨在确定能够令电子合同具有与书面合同同等效力的条件———功能等同。

The format of electronic contracts directly affect their validity and legal status. Among many different approaches to distinguishing their format, the most popular one in international legislation is the “functional coordinative approach”. But domestic scholars have some wrong views about this approach. This approach does not immediately set the same validity between written eorttraets and electronic contracts but stipulate the requirements d the same validity between both, namely, coordinative function.