An Appraisal of the Analysis of the Electronic Signatures' Act No 7 Of 2011 And Its Impact On Evidence Law in Uganda

ABSTRACT

 A digital signature provides information regarding the sender of an electronic document. It provides data integrity, thereby allowing data to remain in the same state in which it was transmitted. Here the most widely used type of cryptography is the public key, where the sender is assigned two keys, one public, and another private key. The original message is encrypted using a public key while the recipient of the message requires a private key to decrypt the message. Then the recipient will be in a position to determine whether the message is altered or not. The following were objectives, To examine the legal basis for Electronic Signatures in Uganda, to find out whether Uganda reaches the international standard in recognition of electronic signatures, to determine the role of electronic signatures as a tool for authentication of electronic record, to give suggestions and provide'ways for Uganda to follow in reaching the international standards of E-Commerce by formulating the matching legal basis for E-Signatures. The method to be employed here in can·ying out the research for the purpose of this paper Nould be by means of secondary sources which is mainly documentary. Info1mation would be sourced from textbooks, internet, journals written by jurist and public lectures delivered by various professors if there is any related to my thesis, studying them and drawing a conclusion and prefening recommendations. Also, in illustrating the admissibility of electronically generated evidence, great reliance would be placed on case law and the constitution will serve as the primary source of all the provisions to be analyzed. Nonnally, the real meaning of development is that changes occurs either automatically or brought by forces of something not easily controllable, but which demands for its adherence for better ending. With the ICT development in the world, changes have been noted from individual to government perspectives, as billions of people are using internet or electronic in transacting. The development which is brought by technological changes, which in any society are inevitable. With this technological evolution, different sectors of society's mode of social, economic, political and technological life are in need to be changed incompliance with this global chariges Act to be amended to Add Reciprocal Recognition of Foreign CA 's and Certificates Issued by Foreign CA's Most international E-commerce laws now provide for various forms of legal recognition of foreign CA's and ce1iificates issued in foreign countries, the ESB fails to do this. Assign More Potential Liability to CA' s It is unusual in international E-signature law to find as much limitation of a CA' s liability as in Uganda. This needs to be changed· Information Technology Courts Because of the specialized knowledge often required in the adjudication of E-commerce disputes, Information Technology ("LT.") Comis should be established as a court-of- first-instance for them. The LT. Comis would be tribunals consisting of three expe1is.