established to be consistent with the developed considerations and objectives. The law was established under the guidance of the model law adopted by the United Nations and the comparative electronic transaction laws in the Arab and Western countries. The law includes eight chapters: The first chapter in Article (1) included the definitions of technical term explaining its significance in the text of the law. Such definitions were meant to be flexible so as to accommodate any new modern technologies. Chapter two of the Law included the general provisions. Article (2) included the scope of application and established the important role in the validity of the provisions of this law and the transactions governed by such provisions. Article (2) also specifies the types of areas, which are generally about everything related to electronic documents and signatures, governed by the provisions of this law. This Article established a significant rule which is respect of the both parties’ agreement on choosing the application of the provision of this legalization or excluding the same pursuant to the principle of “control of the will”. The Article also specifies the transactions and document which are not governed by the law exclusively and which are excluded from the scope of its validity due to its privacy that is inconsistent with the nature of this law; namely the matters of personal status, endowment, wills, deeds and transaction related to property rights or negotiable bills of exchange, or documents which the law requires to be in the form of official or authenticated documents. Article (3) of the law stipulates the consideration of each of the electronic record, document, message, transaction and signature as effective at law whenever carried out pursuant to the provisions of this law. Article (4) established the principle of “control of the will” in the acceptance of dealing through electronic means learnt from the positive behavior taken as an approval. The last paragraph of the Article was added requiring the explicit approval of the government bodies on electronic trading. Article (5) established a significant principle regarding the validity of the hard copy of the electronic document or record as an evidence before the court; whether the document was official or unofficial to the extent the it matches the original as long as the electronic document or record exists on the medium. Article (7) stipulates that the general rules of the Law of Evidence govern the validation of the official and unofficial electronic documents, electronic signature and electronic writing if nothing in this law or the Executive By-law thereof addresses such matters. 29

Select target paragraph3