中国电子签名立法与实践问题研究

Research on Legislation and Practice of Electronic Signature in China

电子签名因其技术和法律特性而备受关注并成为数字贸易的王牌与核心。《电子签名法》为电子签名提供了法律依据,但电子签名立法中仍存在概念外延不周、适用范围不全、法律效力不明、主体定位不准等问题;在实践中体现为:电子签名的内涵和外延尚待明确与完善;在实务界签名人的何种行为可被视为“同意签署”尚不明确;“同意以电子签名形式签署”尚有疑虑;法律规定的电子签名适用范围与实践不相匹配;第三方电子认证服务机构定位、作用和责任不明朗等。这些问题一定程度上成为电子签名发展的掣肘。厘清电子签名的法律内涵与外延、扩大电子签名的适用范围、弥补未约定或约定不明造成的法律缺省,明确第三方电子认证服务机构的定位等工作兼具理论和实践价值。

Electronic signature has become the trump card and core of digital trade because of its technical and legal characteristics.The Law of the People′s Republic of China on Electronic Signature provides a legal basis for electronic signature,but there are still some problems in the legislation of electronic signature,such as inadequate concept exten⁃sion,incomplete scope of application,unclear legal effect and inaccurate subject positioning.In practice,the connota⁃tion and extension of electronic signature need to be clarified and improved;it is not clear what acts of the signer can be regarded as"consent to sign";"agree to sign by electronic signature"has doubts;the scope of application of elec⁃tronic signature stipulated by law does not match with practice;the position,role and responsibility of the third party electronic authentication service organization are not clear.These problems to some extent become the limitation of the development of electronic signature.Suggestions for improvement include clarifying the legal connotation and exten⁃sion of electronic signature,expanding the scope of application of electronic signature,making up the legal default caused by unagreed or unclear agreement,and clarifying the positioning of third-party electronic authentication ser⁃vice institutions,which have both theoretical and practical value.