Since it is not mentioned in any of the addendums, section 2 of the Electronic Signature Law applies to the Banknotes Ordinance, which stipulates by default that where a person's signature on a document is required by statute, this requirement can be fulfilled with respect to a document that is an electronic message (as defined in the Ordinance - to the NR), by means of another electronic signature "provided that the purposes of the signature requirement in accordance with that legislation are met, with a sufficient level of certainty in the circumstances of the case".
- In the explanatory notes to Amendment No. 3, the reasons that led to the cancellation of the obligation of an approved electronic signature in relation to a signature requirement under legislation were detailed. Among other things, the need to create flexibility that will enable compatibility between the type of electronic signature and the purposes of the relevant legislation was explained, with the aim of expanding the use of electronic signatures, while adapting the law to the changing technological reality and making it accessible to the public.
- In other words, it clearly emerges that the legislature's desire is to promote the use of electronic signatures and to adapt the existing civil legislation to the age of the Internet and technological developments, and therefore the model chosen for the Electronic Signature Law is such that the provisions of the law will apply to all existing legislation, while examining the purpose of each and every legislation. Needless to say, the legislature did not establish a special arrangement for the Banknotes Ordinance.
Hence, the question required for a decision is whether in the electronic signature on a deed the purposes that underlie the signature requirement in the Promissory Note Ordinance are fulfilled with a sufficient level of certainty.
Attorney General's Directive No. 1.2500 - "Guiding Rules for Formulating Digital Arrangements"
- Before we delve into the depth of the question, we must also take into account the Attorney General's Directive No. 1.2500, which the Respondent, like any governmental authority, is guided by.
This directive was published in 2019 with the aim of promoting the migration of processes to digital configuration, as detailed in its introduction: