With the widespread use of electronic technologies and the Internet, the issue of the possibility of certifying this or that documentation electronically becomes relevant. There is a phenomenon of the so-called electronic signature. What it is? It will help to answer this question FZ-63 "On electronic signatures" of March 25, 2011, which will be discussed in detail in this article.
General provisions of the Federal Law
What are electronic signatures? FZ-63 reads about this in article 2. According to the law, these are special types of information fixed in electronic form. Such information is joined to another in order to determine the identity of the originator. Thus, the presented normative act is intended to regulate relations in the field of the use of electronic type signatures for legal consolidation of civil transactions, services of a municipal or state nature, etc.
Electronic signatures are expressed in the form of special certificates, which contain keys. Such certificates are issued by the relevant authorities for their further use. Accordingly, the owners of such certificates are persons who need the legal registration of certain documents.
Ways to register documents
Article 5 of Federal Law-63 “On Electronic Signatures” sets forth the main types of signatures. The first thing that is worth highlighting here is the separation into a signature of a simple and enhanced type. Strengthened, in turn, is qualified and unskilled.
It’s worth starting with the characteristics of a simple signature. These are all kinds of codes, passwords and other means. They confirm the fact of the formation of the signature of the electronic level. Simple is used, as a rule, when concluding "light" transactions, as well as agreements that are not considered large. In this case, the right to choose a signature is given to participants in the process of transferring the document.
A complex signature of an unskilled type is intended for the following operations:
- cryptographic information conversion;
- determining the person who receives the electronic document;
- detecting the fact of making changes to the electronic type document.
Confirmation of a document in the form of a qualified skilled type painting, according to Federal Law-63 “On Electronic Signature”, is necessary for the following actions:
- verification of painting in certificates of a qualified nature;
- formation and verification of paintings in separate documents, a list of which is given in the Federal Law under consideration.
Thus, all electronic type signatures are divided into simple and complex. Their application will depend on the degree of significance of a particular case. A little more detail about using a simple electronic signature will be discussed later.
About Simple Type Electronic Signatures
Law No. 63- "On electronic signatures" in article 9 sets forth information on the use of signatures of a simple level. An electronic document can be certified using this option in the following cases:
- The signature is already contained in the document itself.
- The key of a simple signature can be applied only in strict accordance with the rules and regulations established by the operator of the information system. When using the key, the document is formed and sent at the same time with an indication of the person acting as the sender.
All documents or regulations that are registered by electronic signature must contain the following provisions:
- Obligations of a person using a simple key to maintain strict confidentiality;
- rules for determining the citizen who signed the electronic document with a simple signature.
It is not allowed to use electronic signatures when processing documents containing state secrets.
On the recognition of electronic documents
Article 6 of the Law 63- "On electronic signature" refers to the conditions for the recognition of electronic type documents as equivalent to paper. As you know, for the recognition of electronic documentation as valid legally, it is necessary to correctly and efficiently draw up all the elements. For this, a special commission may be set up by state or other bodies to check documents for full legal force.
Therefore, the electronic signature of the compiler is extremely important. For this, a special code or group of codes corresponding to the previously established data must be entered. It is worth noting that the law allows several related documents to be held together with one electronic signature.
On the powers of the state
Article 8 of the Federal Law 63- “On Electronic Signatures” enshrines the basic rules according to which state federal and regional authorities are obliged to fulfill their powers in this area. So, the Government of the Russian Federation is obliged:
- form accreditation commissions and carry out control and supervisory activities of the centers, whose powers include the issuance and acceptance of electronic signatures;
- to act as the head certification authority in relation to accredited certification authorities.
It should also be noted the obligation of the federal authority to store the following information:
- register of certificates of a qualified type;
- address and name of certifying authorities;
- list of accredited centers.
The federal authority must establish requirements for the form of certificates, electronic signature means, etc.
Signature Tools
Article 12 of the normative act in question describes the main means of electronic signature. These, according to the law, are special elements that make it possible to accurately determine the fact of a change in a signed electronic document and to make it practically impossible to calculate a key that acts as a signature.
What should be considered when creating electronic signatures? The law speaks of the following possibilities achievable with its help:
- show the signed information with the help of technical means;
- show that the documentation is indeed signed;
- indication of a specific person who signed the documents.
In 2016, amendments were made to Federal Law-63 “On Electronic Signature”. It is worth noting the addition of Article 6 to Part 3.1, which refers to individual cases where the signing of a document by several persons seems possible. Part 4 of article 6 was changed, which refers to the fastening of several documents with one signature.