Question of the day

Yes. The Contracting Parties may make use of the following options:

Option 1 – Electronic Signature

Electronic signature shall constitute electronic data, which are attached to, or logically associated with, other data in electronic form used as an authentication method. There are several types of electronic signatures (Article 4 of the e-signature Act and electronic document 91/2014):

— simplewhere the identity of the signatory cannot be verified (e.g. first name and surname in the basement of an email);

— unqualified advanced, which is created solely by the signatory whose identity can be verified (e.g. an electronic signature created for each employee by a private key certificate issued by the employer);

— Qualified advancedbased on a public key certificate issued by an accredited service provider and created by a secure device and has the same legal value as the handwritten signature. A practical example of the application of qualified advanced signature is the use of mobile signatures from mobile operators (mobile electronic signature). To generate and use a mobile electronic signature, you need a mobile phone, a valid MIS cartel and an internet connection. Before using the mobile electronic signature, you must ensure that the MIS cartel can be used to generate mobile electronic signature by checking this with the mobile phone operator.

There are other forms of advanced qualified electronic signatures issued by accredited service providers, such as:

1) H.S. Certification Centre “Fiscservinform” — https://pki.ctif.md/or

2) I.P. ‘Information technology service and cybersecurity’ — https://semnatura.md/.”

The general rule is that in order to sign or modify a contract at a distance, both parties must have a qualified advanced electronic signature.

However, the Parties may, by way of prior agreement, agree that the non-qualified simple or advanced electronic signature shall produce legal effects similar to a handwritten signature, specifying the form, effects and method of use. This should be explicitly mentioned in the agreement between the parties and the agreement must be signed previously by the parties in a handful manner or by a qualified advanced electronic signature.

Option 2 – Olognature

Another option is that both parties sign the contract by hand signature and then exchange the original copies by post, preferably by registered letter.

Bene note:

The exchange of documents by e-mail or the use of other alternative electronic signatures (e.g. DocuSign) cannot be considered a valid way of signing an agreement if the parties have not previously signed (use or by qualified advanced electronic signature) a contract/agreement confirming the right of both parties to use the aforementioned methods.

More details on the legal implications of each type of electronic signature are provided in Annex 1 (letter BAA ‘Glades and Parts’, Information and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova) and Annex 2 (response of the Information and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova of 29 September 2020).

Source: Extract from the publication ‘Emergency Legal Advice to SMEs’ prepared by the Economic Council to the Prime Minister and supported by the EBRD’s Impact Fund for Small Business.