Electronic Legal Proceedings and Signi

Modified on Wed, 12 Jun at 2:12 PM


One of the opportunities of digitalisation is electronic legal transactions, which include:

  1. Remote identification in Signi

  2. Electronic signing in Signi

  3. Electronic archiving of documents in Signi


Signi offers its services in all these areas.


Electronic signing

The current legal framework for electronic signatures is provided by the EU eIDAS Directive and related laws. Key regulations:

  1. eIDAS defines electronic signature very broadly "as any electronic data attached to an electronic document used for signing" - EIDAS - CHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS - Article 3 - Definitions point 10

  2. It is equally clear that the courts are to treat documents in paper and electronic form in the same way, i.e. e.g. to request the opinion of a forensic expert to comment on the authorship of the signature.

  3. The EIDAS defines 3 levels of signatures - qualified, guaranteed and other/other/free - EIDAS - CHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS - Article 3 - Definitions point 10, 11, 12, e.g. in the Czech Republic then the local regulation see ZSVD par 5-7, in the Czech legislation is still used recognized, which is a signature with a qualified certificate, which does not need to be stored on a qualified device and is intended for actions towards public authorities - ZSVD par 6.

A fundamental consequence of the EU eIDAS Directive is that:

  • for normal commercial transactions - normal commercial contracts, orders, handover reports, work reports, etc. - the so-called electronic signature at the level of other/plain/other is sufficient, which is offered in various technical versions by Signi and other global and local services for electronic signing as a basic option, for the Czech Republic, a signature via BankID SIGNI at a higher level is also available in Signi

  • for dealing with public administration and other occasions, a qualified or recognised signature is available.


The view of law

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Specifics in public administration and local government

The requirements of eIDAS or related Czech legislation clearly state:

  • The digital legal act of a public authority (OVM) requires the use of a qualified electronic signature. In other words, if someone signs in the exercise of public administration, they must sign with a qualified electronic certificate, which must be stored on a so-called qualified device - a card, token, ID card, etc.

  • A digital legal act towards a public authority (OVM) requires the use of a recognised electronic signature, which is a signature with a qualified electronic certificate that does not have to be stored on a qualified means but e.g. on the local disk of one's computer, uploaded to the system in which one signs, etc. If a citizen or company communicates electronically with the public administration, they can sign with a recognised signature.

Importantly, this does not only apply to state and local government offices, but also to organisations entrusted with public administration, such as schools or hospitals. However, for them, some activities fall under the exercise of public administration and some do not. If a school communicates with parents about no/admission to school, it is an exercise of governance, but if it enters into a commercial contract with a cleaning company, it is not an exercise of governance.


The view of law


Signi view


Electronic signature, law and security in Signi


Remote identification of persons

One of the requirements for electronic signatures under the EU eIDAS Regulation is a certain level of identification of the signatory. This rate varies for different levels of signatures, being highest for qualified signatures, lower for guaranteed signatures and lowest for state and common signatures.


However, the use of qualified signatures is quite complex and therefore not widespread. Therefore, in many cases, it makes sense to use lower level electronic signatures and supplement them with remote identification of the signer by other means, such as uploading personal documents, sending a micropayment from one's account, etc.


At the same time, there are also situations where the law requires remote identification of certain parameters. Such is the Law on Certain Measures against the Legalization of Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing, which defines so-called "Obliged Persons", e.g. financial intermediaries, real estate, accountants or tax advisors, etc., who are obliged to identify / identify / verify the identity of the persons with whom they conclude transactions in a sufficiently secure and conclusive manner before concluding the transactions.


The view of law


Signi view


Long-term archiving of electronic documents

Laws require the archiving of documents for 10 or even 30 years. This is already quite a long time, and therefore some attention should be paid to it even for documents in electronic form.


The view of law


Signi view


What next? Let's do it!


  • Get started now - Create an account in Signi and start sending your first documents for signature. For detailed instructions on how to get started, see Getting Started with Signi. The first three signatures are free, so you can try the app without obligation.   
  • Contact us now at sales@signi.com.
  • Let's schedule a video call together - We'd be happy to demonstrate Signi and how to manage and sign business documents. Choose the date that works best for you.


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