Body
The signature requirements pertain the legal or contractual requirements in order to make a legally effective declaration of intent or a legally binding contract.
Possibility to replace a specific formal requirement of making a binding declaration of intention
In Thailand, the law that governs electronic transactions, including electronic signatures, is the Electronic Transaction Act B.E. 2544 (2001), as amended (ETA). The main concept of the ETA is that information will not be denied legal effect and enforceability solely on the grounds that it is in the form of a data message. Furthermore, if a particular contract needs to be evidenced in writing, information generated in the form of a data message that is accessible and usable for subsequent reference without its meaning being altered may be deemed to be a written document.
The ETA also recognises the validity of electronic documents, or data messages, which bear an electronic signature.
Presence of any specific formal requirements to effectively conclude a loan agreement
Yes, according to the Civil and Commercial Code (CCC), loans exceeding THB 2,000 (approx. USD 58) must be made in writing and must bear the signature of a borrower.
Process of conclusion of a contract by using a qualified electronic signature in practice
The ETA recognises the use of electronic signatures that are created in accordance with the requirements in the ETA. Under the ETA, “Electronic Signature” is defined as a letter, character, number, sound or any other symbol created in electronic form and affixed to a data message in order to establish the association between a person (either natural or juristic) and a data message for the purposes of identifying the signatory and showing that the signatory has approved the information contained in the data message.
An electronic or digital signature can be used for any type of agreement (although there is no explicit distinction under the ETA) – except for certain types specified by royal decree under the ETA, such as matters relating to family law and succession law.
From a practical standpoint, certain types of documents or contracts – such as those that are required to be submitted in physical, hard copies for registration purposes with governmental authorities – may not be able to be made or signed electronically.
A vendor of digital signature tools or services is not subject to a registration or license requirement. However, certificate authorities (CAs), which issue the certificate for digital signatures using public key infrastructure (PKI) must be approved by Thailand's Electronic Transactions Development Agency. Approved CA service providers in Thailand include the National Root Certification Authority of Thailand (NRCA), Internet Thailand Public Company Limited (INET), Thai Digital ID Company Limited (TDID), and National Telecom Public Company Limited (NT).
Legal consequences to a contract in case of not fulfilling formal requirements
In principle, a contract that does not comply with the legal formalities would be void and unenforceable.
Usual practice of signing contractual agreements in the B2B sector