If a contract fails to meet these requirements, it may be void or voidable, meaning it can be invalidated in whole or in part by a court. It's important that when entering into a contract in Colombia, parties seek legal advice to ensure the contract complies with all legal requirements and protects their interests.
From the point of view of the Colombian legislation, the signature is not an essential requirement for a valid agreement. Yet, signatures have an important role as a commercial custom. The signature is an indication that what has been agreed is endorsed and subscribed by the person who in fact signs the document, but since it is not an essential element of the contract, it can be substituted by some other mechanism that corroborates the identity of the person who signs the document. It is important to note that Colombian legislation has equated electronic signature to wet signatures, thus if electronic signature is (i) reliable and (ii) appropriate for the relevant purposes, then both types of signatures have the same legal effect.
In Colombian law there is no requirement other than the above-mentioned for an agreement to be valid. However, it is a custom and a formalism that contracts of this type are written, since they usually include a covenant of interests that would be useful to the creditor, and therefore it is customary that contracts are written and signed.
Process of conclusion of a contract by using a qualified electronic signature in practice
Identification services are regulated by Law 527 of 1999, regulated by Decree 19 of 2012, Article 160, which was in turn regulated by Decree 333 of 2014. For the electronic signature, an authorization is required. Such authorization shall be issued by the National Accreditation Organism (Organismo Nacional de Acreditación) to public or private legal entities. The above rule was declared in accordance with Colombia's constitutional guidelines in ruling C-219 of 2015.
Legal consequences to a contract in case of not fulfilling formal requirements
It will not be valid; the obligation will not come into existence and therefore will not be enforceable.
Usual practice of signing contractual agreements in the B2B sector
These types of contracts are signed using a digital signature. As previously mentioned, digital signatures have the same effects as a traditional signature; therefore, it is the electronic equivalent. The digital signature has a high level of security that guarantees the authenticity of the subscription and the ownership of the person signing, because it is contained in the digital administration code, the set of rules on IT documents and electronic signatures.
Usual practice of signing contractual agreements in the B2C sector
For the time being, these types of contracts are atypical. Thus, there is no specific legislation that regulates requirements for B2C agreements. When such an event occurs, the general rules for the validity of contracts are used. In Colombia the contracts that by law must be elevated to public deed where the signature is compared with the signer of the document is the only situation where the signature is expressly required.