Electronic Signatures in Law
IDENTITY IN LAW Reviewed by Timothy S. Reiniger*
In this analysis and critique of electronic signature forms and laws as they are developing around the world, Stephen Mason explains the authentication, evidentiary, and authority purposes of electronic signatures and their historical antecedents in signature law generally. This is not intended to be simply a “how to” guide for everyday practitioners. Instead, Mason’s mission is to remind policy makers and judges that electronic signatures are yet another technology that must be governed by existing legal principles and made to serve human needs. Technology and systems must not be allowed to supersede or change an “ancient protocol” of law.1
Without attempting to be prescriptive, Mason presents electronic signa tures as being essential to establish identity relationships and determine legal responsibility in the information economy. Electronic signatures are not only the primary method of authentication in law, they also represent or symbolize identity relationships in a given context.2 To study this book is to study the law of identity. (Click here to continue reading)