Note 1: Albania is not a part of the European Union, however the current regulations concerning electronic signature, namely, Law No. 9880, dated 25.02.2008, “On Electronic Signature”, as amended (“Law 9880”), has transposed the provisions of the EU Directive 1999/93/EC. In addition to the Law 9880, laws that govern e-signatures in Albania also include: (i) Law No. 10273, dated 29.4.2010, “On Electronic Document”, as amended (“Law 10273”), and (ii) Law No. 107, dated 1.10.2015, “On Electronic Identification and Trusted Services”, as amended (“Law 107”).
Note 2: Law 107 is partially aligned with EU Regulation No. 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council, dated 23 July 2014 "On electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market”, and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC", CELEX number 32014R0910, Official Journal of the European Union, Series L, no. L257, dated 28.8.2014, pages 73-114.
Overview
In general, in the public sector the use of electronic signatures is becoming quite frequent, because of a series of reforms from the Albanian government encouraging the implementation of e-governance. In contrast, the use of electronic signatures in the private sector is less common. The use of electronic signatures is recognized in Albania and is considered by the Law 9880 as an acceptable alternative to wet signatures, except for some exceptions noted below.
Types of Electronic Signatures
Law 9880 distinguishes between three types of electronic signatures:
- Electronic Signature: pursuant to Article 3 (1) of Law 9880, an electronic signature is defined as electronic data attached or associated to other electronic data which is used by the signatory to sign. An electronic signature platform allows the signatory to sign a document without an independent third party verifying the signature identity.
- Advanced Electronic Signature (“AES”): this advanced electronic signature is given exclusively to a specific holder of the signature code, to achieve the identification of the owners of the signature code (i.e., private cryptographic algorithms) and are generated with safe means, which can be kept under control only by the holder of the signature code in connection with the data, in such a way as to easily distinguish any subsequent changes to this data. The AES is capable of identifying the signatory and is more secure than a simple electronic signature. However, its legal effect is limited, meaning it is not considered as having the same legal validity as a wet signature. That being said, AES and electronic signatures show an intention to sign and proves the authenticity of the parties.
- Qualified Electronic Signature (“QES”): per Article 3 (3) of Law 9880, QES are advanced electronic signatures which rely on an electronic qualified signature certificate (“EQC”) valid at the time of the signature creation issued by an certified services provider (“CSP”), registered with the Albanian National Authority of Electronic Certification and Cyber Security (“NAECCS”), or with a foreign authority, in compliance with the agreement executed between Albania and the country where the holder of electronic signature resides, or by a qualified trust service provider certified in any EU Member State. The validity of the signatory is validated prior by the CSP and is primarily used to protect documents and thus they are enforceable against third parties as well (i.e., considered a digital signature). Importantly, QES has the same legal validity and enforceability as a handwritten signature.
Currently, there are only two service providers in Albania, namely the (i) Albanian National Agency of Information Society (“NAICT”), which is a governmental entity (in Albanian AKSHI), and (ii) ALEAT, which is a private entity. The trust list for Albanian certified service providers (including also the EU trust list for certified service providers) in Albania is held with the NAECCS and is available at the following link: https://cesk.gov.al/regjistri/regjistri/index.html.
Use cases for Electronic Signatures
The use of electronic signatures is recognized in Albania and is considered by the Law 9880 as an acceptable alternative to wet signatures, except for some use cases which may not be executed electronically, such as:
- contracts governed by family law or inheritance law;
- contracts which require:
- confirmation / legalization by a public authority,
- execution of documents/contracts as notarial deeds (meaning which notarial form is mandatory) before a public notary (such as sale of immovable properties, long-term leases, etc.), or
- authorizations by the court;
- contracts for which the law requires the intervention of the court, government authority or profession exercising a public service mission;
- wills, which need to be signed personally by the testator;
- the act of marriage, which must be signed personally by both spouses; and
- where specific legislation does not allow the use of electronic signatures.
Special considerations
Transactions with public sector entities
In Albania, the public sector and government entities are becoming more accustomed to the use of electronic signatures for issuing public documents, following the e-government reform recently enforced by the Albanian government. Certain government entities issue public documents with electronic seal and signature (digital stamp) which have the same legal validity as the wet signature forms (i.e., the social security insurance, civil status office, state cadastral agency all issue documents with electronic signature). Additionally, as mentioned above, documents signed electronically with a QES have the same legal validity and enforceability as a wet signature. Nonetheless, the common practice in courts or legal proceedings by magistrates and/or judges is to refer to wet signature documents because of the lack of familiarity there is vis-à-vis electronic documents.
It is important to mention that there are certain procedures in Albania for which the creation of an electronic signature is a requirement. For example, for the registration of a legal entity in the Register of the Ultimate Beneficiary Owner (“UBO”), the legal representative of such entity is required to have a QES. Nonetheless, the administrator/director of the entity can use the digital signature outside this procedure as well.
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