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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif">Hello all,</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif">I am sharing very useful information about Digital Electronics Signature Regulations & Laws in different countries.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif">Many of these laws change rapidly through amendments and reactions to changes in technology. It is important to note that many of these laws have not been extensively tested in contested digital signature cases as they are still relatively new. Expect that in two to three years, after wider use, these laws will be challenged in transactions that will further shape the digital signatures laws.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Australia</B><BR>November 25, 2000: Approved electronic signature bill law with action to take place from July 2001. Gatekeeper model set up and designed to guide development of PKI infrastructure. Australian Customs has developed a system called the Cargo Management Re-Engineering Project (CMR). CMR was designed to leverage PKI for improving Customs paperwork for import and export of goods.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Austria</B><BR>Digital signature legislation provides full recognition of secure digital signatures with less (but some) support for insecure digital signature methods.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Bermuda</B><BR>July 1999: Enacted Electronic Transactions Act of 1999, which provides legal recognition of electronic signatures.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Brazil</B><BR>Superior Court of Justice will now publish its decisions online with a digital signature affixed to the decision to vouch for its authenticity.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Canada</B><BR>The city of Toronto provides for the land (in other words, deed) registration documents that can be submitted and maintained electronically with digital signatures. More than 50 percent of the city’s land documents have been implemented through this system.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Finland</B><BR>January 2000: Act on Electronic Service in the Administration. This act defines the scope and structure of the elements of a PKI for digital signatures. Specific exclusions of the act are listed; unlike in other countries, this law excludes the use of digital certificates for the application to administrative judicial procedures</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>France</B><BR>March 13, 2000: Electronic signature law implemented.<BR>July 16, 2002: A decree was issued that required cryptographic service providers to provide authorized (government-recognized) agents the ability to decrypt data on demand. Effectively, this required either an escrow ability for private keys in PKI or a cryptographic system that allowed for a “back-door.”</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Hong Kong</B><BR>Hong Kong’s government is offering free digital certificates for the first year of its Smart ID card program. The program was designed to build a system that can provide smart cards for all electronic activities requiring authentication for digital transactions.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Italy</B><BR>The government has passed a regulation that provides for digital signatures in support of the relevant EU directive (93/99/EC). The regulation identifies two types of signatures: a light signature for person identification and access to general public administration services and a more secure signature for digital signatures of electronic documents.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Korea</B><BR>The Ministry of Information and Communication requires Internet-based banking organizations to use government-issued banking digital certificates. Organizations already using nongovernment-issued certificates will be required to go to government-issued certificates by May 2003.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Malaysia</B><BR>One of the earlier legislations on digital signatures, Malaysia passed its Digital Signature Act in 1997.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>New Zealand</B><BR>October 2002: Electronic Transactions Bill passed that provides electronic documents and digital signatures on par with physical contracts and signatures.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif"><B>Singapore</B><BR>June 1998: Singapore passed its digital signature act called the Electronic Transactions Act 1998 that provides for the legal recognition of digital signatures.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif">Hope everyone finds it useful.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif">Regards,<BR>Prakash<BR></FONT><A href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/prakashp" target=_blank rel=nofollow><FONT face="verdana, helvetica, sans-serif">http://www.linkedin.com/in/prakashp</FONT></A></DIV>
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