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Certainty at Last? : A “New” Framework for Electronic Contracting in Singapore

Singapore is the first Asian country to accede to the UNCITRAL Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts. Upon accession, the Singaporean Electronic Transactions Act was re-pealed and re-enacted in a modified version, with effect from 1 July 2010. The modified ETA retains the framework of the original ETA but adds or amends certain provisions dealing with electronic contracting to align domestic e-commerce regulations with the Convention. Accordingly, Singapore is not only the first Asian nation to accede 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. 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 principles.