By Lucia Myriam Netti

Overview

Increasingly in the business world, electronic signatures (‘e-signatures’) are utilised to save time and shipping costs. For many companies, legal documents can be executed entirely online without having to meet in-person. Equally, technological advances have enabled securer tools to protect private and legal documents online.

In Mexico, e-signatures are increasing used in online transactions and sales. There is two main governing law which define e-signatures and its scope.

• The Federal Civil Code
• The Federal Commerce Code

Definition

Under the relevant law, an electronic signature refers to “any electronic data included within a data message, or attached to, or logically associated with the same through any technology, which identifies the signer within the data message, and indicates that the signer approves the information contained within the data message.”

The e-signature has the same legal effects as a handwritten signature and can be utilised as evidence in the court.

A data message is “the information generated, sent, received or filed through optical or electronic means or through any other technology.”

Requirements

Data message with an electronic signature shall contain the below requirements to be enforceable:

• The original version shall be kept;
• Shall be conserved in its entirely and kept available for subsequent consultation; and
• E-signatures shall be attributable to its signers.

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