Originally published 22 April, 2008

Keywords: Electronic Transaction Act, Electronic Transaction Act (No. 2), BE 2544, BE 2551, e-commerce, digital signatures, stamp duties

Summary

Thailand has amended its Electronic Transaction Act BE 2544 (2001) ("Original Act") to further strengthen and promote e-commerce transactions in the country.

The amended Act, Electronic Transaction Act (No.2) BE 2551 (2008) ("Amended Act"), was published in the Government Gazette on 13 February 2008, and took effect on 14 February 2008.

Full Update

The Original Act provided for the admissibility in evidence of digital signatures and electronic data. The Amended Act expands this list to include electronic stamp duties, corporate seals and published electronic data.

Section 8 of the Amended Act provides that if any instrument is required by law to be affixed with stamp duties, if it is paid or otherwise processed by electronic methods in accordance with the rules and methods stipulated by the related government agencies, it shall be deemed that such instrument is affixed with stamp duties.

Section 9 of the Original Act recognized the validity of a digital signature of a person under two conditions:

(1) That the measure used to identify the signature's owner and the owner of the signature can confirm that the passage in the electronic data belongs to him; and

(2) That such measure is reliable and suitable to the objective of the creation or transmission of electronic data given the circumstances or agreement of the parties.

Under the Amended Act, "person" and "digital signatures" now includes juristic persons and digital corporate seals. The Amended Act further refines subsection (2) of Section 9 above by defining what are considered reliable methods, the methods or devices in identifying a person, nature and types of transactions, and security of the communication system.

Section 10 as amended now stipulates that if the published electronic data is completely identical to the electronic data and certified by the relevant authorized agency, such published item can be used as the original electronic data.

Section 11 of the Original Act provided for the admissibility of electronic evidence in legal proceedings. The Amended Act particularly identifies legal proceedings as "civil, criminal and any other cases." In assessing the evidential weight of electronic data to determine whether it is reliable or not, the manner in which or the method by which the electronic data was generated, stored or communicated, the manner in which or the method by which the completeness and integrity of the information was maintained and the manner in which or the method by which the originator was identified or indicated, including all relevant circumstances are to be considered.

These amendments strengthen the enforceability of electronic data in order to facilitate and stimulate ecommerce business transactions in Thailand. Thailand expects that these amendments, combined with the promulgation of other e-transaction laws such as the Data Protection Act and the Computer Crime Act, will encourage consumer confidence and broaden the consumer base of Thai entrepreneurs.

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