Property_Manu - Final - The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.

The New India Assurance Co.Ltd.LEGAL OPINION ON EVIDENTIARY VALUE OF INSURANCE CERTIFICATESSTORED IN ELECTRONIC FORMATThis opinion was taken on 08.06.2011 from Ms. Mandakini D. S. Sinh, Advocate and Synopsisof the applicable provisions of IT Act 2000 and Evidence Act 1872 are given below.The Information Technology Act, 2000The Statement of Objects & Reasons, of The Information Technology Act, 2000 (hereinafter theIT Act) which guide a person in interpreting the Act or Bill, states as follows:“New communication systems and digital technology have made dramatic changes in the waywe live. A revolution is occurring in the way people transact business. Businesses and consumersare increasingly using computers to create, transmit and store information in the electronic forminstead of traditional paper documents. Information stored in electronic form has manyadvantages. It is cheaper, easier to store, retrieve and speedier to communicate. Although peopleare aware of these advantages, they are reluctant to conduct business or conclude any transactionin the electronic form due to lack of appropriate legal framework. The two principal hurdleswhich stand in the way of facilitating electronic commerce and electronic governance are therequirements as to writing and signature for legal recognition. At present many legal provisionsassume the existence of paper based records and documents and records which should bearsignatures. The Law of Evidence is traditionally based upon paper based records and oraltestimony. Since electronic commerce eliminates the need for paper based transactions, henceto facilitate e-commerce, the need for legal changes have become an urgent necessity.International trade through the medium of e-commerce is growing rapidly in the past few yearsand many countries have switched over from traditional paper based commerce to e-commerce.2. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNICTRAL) adopted theModel Law on Electronic Commerce in 1996. The General Assembly of United Nationsby its Resolution No. 51/162, dated 30 th January 1997, recommended that all Statesshould give favorable considerations to the said Model Law when they enact or revisetheir laws. The Model Law provides for equal legal treatment of users of electroniccommunication and paper based communication. Pursuant to a recent declaration bymember countries, The World Trade Organization is likely to form a work programme tohandle its work in this area including the possible creation of multilateral trade dealsthrough the medium of electronic commerce.86 MANUAL ON PROPERTY