Qualified Electronic Signatures for Lawyers

When there are legal inconsistencies in cross-border transactions, QES has legal advantages over electronic signatures and Advanced Electronic Signatures (AdES). QES has the highest level of admissibility in court proceedings and has the same legal standing as a handwritten signature, according to Article 25 of eIDAS/UK eIDAS. In addition, a QES that is based on a qualified certificate granted in one EU member state is legally recognized as a QES throughout the entire EU as well as in the UK.

More assurance is provided by QES regarding the legitimacy of the document. This is because a qualified trust service provider (QTSP) like Digidentity, whose operations are strictly regulated/audited under eIDAS/UK eIDAS, verifies the signatory's identity. The QTSP issues a qualified certificate to authenticate that the signatory is who they claim to be. The qualified certificate can be used by the recipient of a digitally signed document to verify that the signatory is who they say they are.

The integrity of every document signed electronically using Adobe Sign is certified by a tamper-evident seal. However, QES guarantees even higher integrity since cryptographic signatures, which are generated and verified by the key pair, directly safeguard the integrity. If someone has tried to tamper with or edit the document, the public cryptographic key cannot validate the QES using Adobe Acrobat or Reader.

Prior to the development of cloud computing, a signatory would create their QES using a private key and qualified certificate kept on a smartcard or USB token. These devices were PIN-protected and connected to a desktop computer. A face-to-face meeting with the QTSP was required to obtain a qualified certificate. A signatory can now quickly obtain a qualified certificate and use their QES to sign documents via a web browser or mobile application thanks to the cloud and PKI technologies.

The process for using QES is substantially the same as the process for using electronic signatures. The signatory must also authenticate themselves to the QTSP in order to acquire their qualified certificate for signing, which is the only significant distinction. However, Digidentity has the advantage of a fully remote onboarding that allows users to verify their identity within minutes.

In the EU, UK, and many other third countries, QES has the same legal standing as handwritten signatures. It benefits lawyers since it alleviates the stress of dealing with a conflict of laws. We cannot guarantee that QES will be enforceable and valid in all jurisdictions where our clients may conduct business. But what we can say is that it is more likely that cross-border transaction documents will be legitimate and enforceable in pertinent jurisdictions due to QES's improved legal standing.