Certainty at Last? a “New†Framework for Electronic Contracting in Singapore

Abstract

Singapore is the first Asian country to accede to the UNCITRAL Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts. Singapore is not only the first Asian nation to accede to the CUECIC but also the first nation to implement some of its provisions locally. It is these provisions that are the subject of this paper. The ETA is significantly wider in scope than the Convention, as it deals not only with electronic contracting but also with the use of electronic communications in the public sector, the liability of network service providers and the remote authentication procedures.[1] This paper examines how the provisions transplanted from the Convention interface with the principles of contract law. Do they create the long-awaited “certainty†in the controversial field of e-commerce? As Singapore’s contract law is predominantly based on English common law, the problems discussed herein will be encountered in any legal system relying on similar principle. [1] Joint IDA-AGC Review of the Electronic Transactions Act Proposed Amendments, 2009, (“Joint Reviewâ€) para 2.16.3