Attribution , Acknowledgement & Despatch of Electronic Records
Section 11. Attribution of electronic records.
An electronic record can be legally linked to the person who sent or created it.
Attribution decides who is responsible for the electronic record.
Attribution of an electronic record means legally identifying who an electronic record belongs to or who sent it.
The Electronic record will be treated as coming from the originator in the following situations:
(a).
If the electronic record was sent directly by the originator himself.
When the person who created or sent the message sends it personally, the law clearly treats the electronic record as coming from that originator.
(b).
If the electronic record was sent by someone who had permission or authority to act for the originator with respect to that record.
If someone is authorised, such as an employee / agent, to send the electronic record for the originator, the record is still treated as the originator sent it.
(c).
if the electronic record was sent automatically by an information system that was programmed by, or on behalf of, the originator.
So, when a system set up by the originator sends messages on its own, those messages are still treated as coming from the originator.
Section 12. Acknowledgment of receipt.
12(1).
if the sender has not specified how they want confirmation of receipt, the law allows flexible ways to acknowledge it.
Sometimes , the originator may or may not set a specific form or method for acknowledging the receipt.
If no specific method is stipulated, an acknowledgment of receipt can still be given.
The acceptable ways of giving acknowledgment are:
(a).
Any kind of reply or response from the addressee counts as communication, regardless of how it is generated.
It can be generated automatically by a system or sent manually by the addressee.
(b).
Any action or behaviour of the addressee that clearly shows the originator that the electronic record has been received.
So, even without a formal reply, if the addressee acts in a way that proves they got the message then that conduct counts as acknowledgment.
12(2).
An electronic record becomes effective only after the sender receives confirmation, if the sender has made that a condition.
The originator may clearly state that the electronic record will be binding only after an acknowledgment of receipt is received.
If such a condition is set, the record has no legal effect until acknowledgment is received.
If acknowledgment is not received at all, the electronic record is treated as if it was never sent.
12(3).
Under circumstances where:
The originator sends an electronic record to the addressee and ;
The originator has not made acknowledgment of receipt a mandatory condition for the electronic record to be binding ;
The originator does not receive an acknowledgment: Within the time agreed or specified or if no time is specified, within a reasonable time.
Then , in such a cases, the originator may send a notice to the addressee stating that:
No acknowledgment has been received.
A reasonable time limit is being given to send the acknowledgment.
If the addressee still fails to send the acknowledgment within this new time limit after receiving such notice:
The originator may treat the electronic record as if it had never been sent.
Section 13. Time and place of despatch and receipt of electronic record.
13(1).
Unless the originator and the addressee have agreed otherwise on different terms:
An electronic record is considered dispatched when it leaves the control of the originator.
Specifically, dispatch occurs when the electronic record enters a computer system or network that is outside the originator’s control.
So, an electronic message is treated as “sent” the moment it leaves the sender’s system, not when the receiver actually reads it.
13(2).
If the parties have not decided their own method, then:
The following legal rules will be used to determine when an electronic record is considered to be received.
(a).
If the addressee has specifically chosen a computer system to receive electronic records then:
(i).
Receipt takes place when the electronic record enters that designated computer resource.
(ii).
If the electronic record is sent to some other computer resource of the addressee and not the designated one then:
Receipt takes place only when the addressee actually retrieves the record.
(b).
When the addressee has not specified any particular computer system or timing then:
The electronic record is considered received at the moment it enters any computer resource of the addressee.
If no special system or timing is chosen by the receiver, the message is treated as received as soon as it reaches any of their systems.
13(3).
Unless the originator and the addressee have agreed otherwise the following rule applies:
An electronic record is considered sent (despatched) from the place of business of the originator.
The same electronic record is considered received at the place of business of the addressee.
An electronic message is treated as being sent from the sender’s business location and received at the receiver’s business location.
It does not matter where the servers or computers are actually located.
13(4).
The legal place of receipt does not depend on where the computer or server is physically located.
13(2) will apply even if the computer system or server is located in a different physical place.
The place where the electronic record is legally treated as received 13(3) remains the same.
The actual location of the computer resource is irrelevant for deciding the place of receipt.
13(5).
For the purposes of this section:
(a). If the originator or the addressee has more than one place of business, the principal place of business will be treated as the place of business.
(b). If the originator or the addressee does not have a place of business, their usual place of residence will be treated as the place of business.
(c). The term Usual Place of Residence, in the case of a body corporate, means the place where the company is registered.
