The Relationship between Electronic Contract and Traditional Contract

As a brand-new contract form, electronic contract contains roughly the same information as the traditional contract, and it is also a document to determine the rights and obligations of the parties to the contract. Its establishment also needs two elements: offer and acceptance. Electronic contracts are concluded in the form of data messages through the computer Internet.

In e-commerce, the meaning and function of contract have not changed, but its form has changed greatly.

1, the contract was concluded in different environments.

The conclusion of traditional contracts takes place in the real world, and both parties can negotiate face to face; However, the conclusion of electronic contracts takes place in virtual space, and the two parties to the transaction generally do not meet, and it is even impossible to determine the relative person of the transaction. Their identity depends only on the identification of passwords or the certification of certification bodies.

2. All aspects of contract conclusion have changed.

Under the network environment, the sending and receiving time of offer and acceptance is more complicated than that of traditional contracts, and the constitutive conditions for the establishment and effectiveness of contracts are also different.

The form of the contract has changed.

The information contained in an electronic contract is a data message, and there is no difference between the original and the copy, so it is impossible to sign and seal it in the traditional way.

The rights and obligations of both parties to the contract are also different.

In electronic contracts, there are not only substantive rights and obligations determined by the contract content, but also formal rights and obligations arising from special contract forms, such as digital signature legal relationship. In the legal relationship of substantive rights and obligations, some rights and obligations that are not paid much attention to in traditional contracts are very important in electronic contracts, such as information disclosure obligations and privacy protection obligations.

5. The performance and payment of electronic contracts are more complicated than traditional contracts.

The impact on the performance of the contract is mainly some changes after the adoption of electronic payment. In the transaction of information products, the signing, delivery and payment may be completed online, which will have a great impact on the performance of the contract. The problems involved in performance mainly include:

A. Performance remedial measures

The exercise of electronic self-help right in information product transaction

C. definition of risk liability

D. legal issues in electronic payment, etc.

Although they are essentially different in form, they have the same function, and both of them have a certain role in binding people's norms.

The conclusion of traditional contracts takes place in the real world, and the main signing methods are face-to-face signing, scanning the original contract signing and express delivery contract signing. Whether the contract has been tampered with cannot be found in time, and colleagues are also at risk of being poked by radish.

The conclusion of an electronic contract takes place in a virtual space. The two parties to the transaction can face each other or not, and there is no geographical restriction. The signing can be completed through the network. At the same time, electronic contracts have strict requirements on reliability and tamper resistance. Through technical means, the contract is effectively tamper-proof, the signing time is accurately recorded, and the identity of the signing subject is truly verified, so as to realize non-repudiation and traceability of changes. When signing remotely, ensure that both parties can control the signer's signature.

Legal basis:

Article 63 of the Civil Procedure Law

Evidence includes electronic data, but the so-called "electronic contract" in the form of ordinary data messages must comply with strict judicial regulations before it can become judicial evidence.

For example, you need a notary to accompany you to collect evidence, keep it, identify it, etc ... But the process is complicated and the cost is high. The electronic contract with reliable electronic signature "has the same legal effect as the handwritten signature or seal", so it has the legal effect of documentary evidence, and its evidence collection and identification process can also be proved by reference books, which is convenient and fast.