E-signatures in commercial contracts in Slovakia
- Definition and formal requirements of written legal statements or legal statements legally binding if the law requires written form
- Examples for legal statements and contracts where written form is required
- Are there special legal provisions for digital archiving and storage of electronic documents? If yes, please describe them
- Main and relevant court practices
- In which cases are documents with wet ink signatures required?
- List of the relevant national legislation
- Are the following use cases deemed as written legal statements / legal statements legally binding if the law requires written form in your jurisdiction?
jurisdiction
1. Definition and formal requirements of written legal statements or legal statements legally binding if the law requires written form
The definition is the same as under employment law, i.e. signing the contract in electronic form with a
qualified electronic signature (QES) or advanced electronic signature is sufficient if the law requires a written form. However, the Slovakian Supreme Court has passed a decision which allows a broader interpretation of the definition of a written contract and has stated that a contract sent via email, fax or SMS can be deemed as written, with the main condition being that the text of the legal act is captured on a material basis from which it is possible to identify the content of the legal act and the person who performed the legal act.
2. Examples for legal statements and contracts where written form is required
Slovakian law requires the mandatory written form for several commercial contracts. Commonly used
commercial contracts with the mandatory written form are insurance agreements and associated legal acts, contracts relating to pre-emption rights, contracts for exclusive licences, bank account agreements, and contractual penalty clauses.
3. Are there special legal provisions for digital archiving and storage of electronic documents? If yes, please describe them
N/A
4. Main and relevant court practices
The Slovak Supreme Court has held that a written form is maintained even if a person uses an e-mail, fax or SMS, whereas the main condition is that the text of the legal act is captured on a material basis from which it is possible to identify the content of the legal act and the person, who performed the legal act.
5. In which cases are documents with wet ink signatures required?
There are no such cases.
6. List of the relevant national legislation
- Act No. 40/1964 Coll. Civil Code, as amended;
- EU eIDAS Regulation;
- Act No. 215/2002 Coll. On Electronic Signature, as amended
- Act No. 513/1991 Coll. Commercial Code, as amended
7. Are the following use cases deemed as written legal statements / legal statements legally binding if the law requires written form in your jurisdiction?
1. Electronic document signed with qualified electronic signature (QES as defined in the eIDAS Regulation) and with a time stamp | Yes |
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2. Electronic document signed with qualified electronic signature (QES as defined in the eIDAS Regulation) without a time stamp | Yes |
3. Electronic document signed with advanced electronic signature (AdES as defined in the eIDAS Regulation) and with a time stamp | Yes |
4. Electronic document signed with advanced electronic signature (AdES as defined in the eIDAS Regulation) without a time stamp | Yes |
5. Electronic document signed with advanced biometric signature | Yes |
6. Electronic document signed with a simple, standard electronic signature (SES) | Yes |
7. Scanned electronic version of the original paper-based document with handwritten signature sent as an attachment in ordinary e-mail without an electronic signature, but with standard e-mail signature panel | Yes |
8. Legal statement sent as a text of an ordinary e-mail without an electronic signature, but with a standard e-mail signature panel | Yes |
9. Legal statement sent in an SMS | Yes |
10. Electronic document with a copy-pasted image of a handwritten signature, sent as an attachment of an ordinary e-mail | Yes |
11. Electronic document with the typed name of the signer and sent as an e-mail attachment | Yes |
12. Electronic legal statement sent in a social-media message sending application (e.g. Messenger, Viber, LinkedIn, Facebook message, etc.) | Yes |
13. Electronic legal statement sent in a chat application | Yes |
14. Electronic document created on an electronic platform ensured by the other party requesting the legal statement (without an electronic signature) by another party whom the operator of the platform granted access | Yes |
15. Electronic document signed in DocuSign/Adobe Sign with a simple standard electronic signature (no QES or AdES) | Yes |
16. Electronic document signed with a qualified electronic seal as defined in the eIDAS Regulation | Yes |
17. Agreements accepted by the other party online, by ticking a checkbox or by clicking on a button ("click on agreements") | No |
7. Remarks/Comments to use cases (if yes/no answer is not sufficient)
As mentioned above, any electronic form is permissible as such, however, would be deemed as written only if captured on a material basis from which it is possible to identify the content of the legal act and the persons, who performed the legal act and other statutory obligations (if applicable). In case of potential litigation, burden of proof would always be on the side of the party who would claim that the document in question was signed by a certain person. Most forms of electronic signing noted above have not been tested by the courts and it is therefore difficult to predict the position of courts in relation to these forms.
