Cogency of Electronic Documentary Evidence in Qatari Law: a comparative Study

Abstract

Recently, e-commerce is becoming increasingly a common means of buying and selling goods and services for individuals or businesses. Traditional practices that require contracting procedures for documenting business transactions in hard copy form are no more suitable for e-commerce transactions (i.e., transactions made using modern means of communication such as Fax, telex, mobile phone, and via the Internet such as e-mail or by electronic data interchange) and concluding contracts in their new form and content is a challenge. Recently, e-commerce is becoming increasingly a common means of buying and selling goods and services for individuals or businesses. Traditional practices that require contracting procedures for documenting business transactions in hard copy form are no more suitable for e-commerce transactions (i.e., transactions made using modern means of communication such as Fax, telex, mobile phone, and via the Internet such as e-mail or by electronic data interchange) and concluding contracts in their new form and content is a challenge.One of the main advantages that was fostered by the practice of business through the use of digital media is that there is no need to transfer and store paper documents. Hence, electronic contracts have become the norm, and the importance of the use of paper documents to document these transactions declined in the light of this new business environment.Although, some people question the possibility that electronic documents can withstand the traditional paper-based society, there is another trend that calls for the expansion of the legal requirements that require documentation of paper documents written and signed by hand to include documents written and signed electronically. This latter view was the driving force behind the efforts made by international bodies and national legislation for the formulation of the legal rules that would govern the legal recognition of electronic documents and electronic signature.