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Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Act 2017

REPUBLIC OF FIJI

Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Act 2017


ACT NO. 8 OF 2017


I assent.
J. K. KONROTE President


[14 February 2017]


AN ACT
TO AMEND THE ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS ACT 2008
ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of Fiji—


Short title and commencement


1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Act 2017.

(2) This Act comes into force on the date the Electronic Transactions Act 2008 comes into force.

(3) In this Act the Electronic Transactions Act 2008 is referred to as the "Principal Act".

Section 2 amended

2. Section 2 of the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) in paragraph (a), deleting "and" after "entities;";
(b) in paragraph (b), deleting "." and substituting ";"; and
(c) inserting the following new paragraphs after paragraph (b)
(d) provide for the efficient delivery of ICT services by Government entities; and
(e) provide for rules governing evidence with regard to electronic communication."

Section 3 amended

3. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) deleting the definition of "electronic communication" and substituting the following—
(b) in the definition of "place of business" inserting the following after "or body;"—
(c) inserting the following new definitions—

Section 5 amended

4. The Principal Act is amended by deleting section 5 and substituting the following—

"Validity of electronic transactions
5. A data message, electronic document, electronic record or other communication must not be denied legal recognition, effect, validity, or enforceability on the ground that it is in electronic form."

New section 5A inserted

5. The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following new section after section 5—

"Requirements for original form
5A.—(1) Where any written law, for the time being in force in Fiji, requires information or documents to be presented, stored, retained or generated in its original paper based form, such requirement is deemed to be satisfied by information contained in a data message, electronic document, electronic record or other communication in electronic form, if there exists a reliable assurance with regard to assessing the integrity of the said information from the time such information was first generated in its final form as a data message, electronic document, electronic record or any communication or otherwise, and the said information contained in the data message, electronic document, electronic record or communication is available and can be used for subsequent reference.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—

Section 6 amended

6. The Principal Act is amended by deleting section 6 and substituting the following—

"Time of dispatch
6.—(1) If an electronic communication leaves an information system underthe control of the originator or of the party who sent it on behalf of the originator, the dispatch of the electronic communication is taken to occur when it leaves that information system.
(2) If an electronic communication has not left an information system under the control of the originator or of the party who sent it on behalf of the originator, the dispatch of the electronic communication is taken to occur when it is received."

Section 7 amended

7. The Principal Act is amended by deleting section 7 and substituting the following—

"Time of receipt
7.—(1) If the addressee of an electronic communication has designated anelectronic address for the purpose of receiving electronic communications, the time of receipt of the electronic communication is taken to be the time when the electronic communication becomes capable of being retrieved by the addressee at that electronicaddress.
(2) If an electronic communication has been sent to another electronic address of theaddressee, the time of receipt of the electronic communication is taken to be the time when it becomes capable of being retrieved by the addressee at that electronic address and it has come to the attention of the addressee that the electronic communication has been sent to that address.
(3) An electronic communication is presumed to be capable of being retrieved by the addressee when it reaches the addressee’s electronic address."

Section 10 amended

8. The Principal Act is amended by deleting section 10 and substituting the following—

"Originator or addressee with more than one or no place of business
10. for the purposes of the application of sections 8 and 9 to an electronic communication—

New Part 2A inserted

9. The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following new Part after Part 2—

"PART 2A— INVITATIONS TO MAKE OFFERS
Invitation to make offers
12A. A proposal to conclude a contract made through one or more electronic communications which is not addressed to one or more specific parties, but is generally accessible to parties making use of information systems, including proposals that make use of interactive applications for the placement of orders through such information systems, is to be considered as an invitation to make offers, unless it clearly indicates the intention of the party making the proposal to be bound in case of acceptance."

Section 13 amended

10. Section 13 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by inserting "or if a written law provides consequences for the absence of writing," after "information in writing,".

Section 14 amended

11. The Principal Act is amended by deleting section 14 and substituting the following—

"Signature
14.—(1) If, under any written law in Fiji, the signature of a person is required, or if a written law provides consequences for the absence of a signature, that requirement is taken to have been met in relation to an electronic communication, where—
(2) This section does not affect the operation of any other written law of Fiji that provides for or requires—

New Part 3A inserted

12. The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following new Part after Part 3—

"PART 3A—GENERAL PROVISIONS GOVERNING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTS
Invitation to make offers in international contracts
16A. A proposal to conclude a contract made through one or more electronic communications which is not addressed to one or more specific parties, but is generally accessible to parties making use of information systems, is to be considered as an invitation to make offers, unless it clearly indicates the intention of the party making the proposal to be bound in case of acceptance.
Use of automated message systems for contract formation
16B. A contract formed by the interaction of an automated message system and a natural person, or by the interaction of automated message systems, must not be denied validity or enforceability on the sole ground that no natural person reviewed or intervened in each of the individual actions carried out by the automated message systems or the resulting contract.
Error in electronic communication
16C.—(1) Where a natural person makes an input error in an electronic communication exchanged with the automated message system of another party and the automated message system does not provide the person with an opportunity to correct the error, that person, or the party on whose behalf that person was acting, has the right to withdraw the portion of the electronic communication in which the input error was made if—
(2) Nothing in this section affects the application of any rule of law that may govern the consequences of any error other than as provided for in subsection (1)."

Section 17 amended

13. The Principal Act is amended by deleting section 17 and substituting the following—

"Efficient delivery of ICT services by governmental entities
17.—(1) Unless otherwise specifically provided in any written law, where any written law for the time being in force in Fiji requires—
such requirement described in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) must be deemed to have been satisfied, if such filing, creation, retention, issue of a certificate or licence, permit, notice or approval, issue of receipt for payment, procurement or other transaction, as the case may be, is effected in the form of electronic documents, electronic records or any electronic communication as may be specified by the relevant governmental entity.
(2) The relevant governmental entity requiring the use of electronic documents, electronic records or electronic communications specified in subsection (1), may recommend the making of regulations under this Act for the purpose of authorising or facilitating the use of electronic documents or electronic records, to the Minister responsible for the administration of this Act, by specifying—
(3) In relation to practices and procedures of a court or tribunal, where electronic documents, electronic records or any electronic communications are envisaged, the court or tribunal may set rules to specify any of the matters prescribed in subsection (2)."

Section 18 amended

14. The Principal Act is amended by deleting section 18 and substituting the following—

"Rules governing electronic evidence
18.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions contained in the Civil Evidence Act 2002or any other written law, the following provisions shall apply to Parts 2, 3 and 4 of this Act, in any civil proceedings.
(2) Any information contained in a data message, electronic document, electronic record or any electronic communication—
shall be admissible in any civil proceeding under this Act, provided that direct oral evidence of such fact in issue or relevant matter, if available, shall be admissible; and there is no reason to believe that the information contained in a data message, electronic document, electronic record or any electronic communication is unreliable or inaccurate.
(3) The courts shall, unless the contrary is proved, presume the truth of information contained in a data message, electronic document, electronic record or electronic communication, and in the case of any data message, electronic document, electronic record or electronic communication made by a person or governmental entity, that the said data message, electronic document, electronic record or electronic communication was made by the person who is purported to have made it and similarly, shall presume the validity of any electronic signature or authentication method or distinctive identification mark therein."

Schedule amended

15. The Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by deleting paragraph 3.

Passed by the Parliament of the Republic of Fiji this 9th day of February 2017.


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