It is expected that the new law will contribute to the acceleration of digital transformation, the affirmation of the use of electronic documents, digital signatures, and electronic seals in public administration and the economy, but will also bring savings due to the reduction in the use of paper documents.
Please find a couple of specifications of the new law:
The new law defines an electronic document as a set of data that is electronically formatted or stored on an electronic, magnetic, optical or other medium and that contains properties that identify the creator, establish the credibility of the content and prove the immutability of the content over time, and include all forms of written text, data, images, drawings, maps, sound, music, speech, as well as digitized documents.
An electronic document has the same legal validity as a document drawn up on paper and its validity and evidential force cannot be challenged just because it is in electronic form.
An electronic document originally created in electronic form and signed with an electronic signature or electronic seal is considered as the original. An electronic document cannot have a copy in electronic form. If the same person creates two documents with the same content, in electronic form and on paper, those documents are considered independent. The information system must have appropriate protection of personal and other data.
Legal and natural persons, i.e. the competent authorities, are obliged to keep electronic documents in their original form, in an electronic archive, in an information system or on media that enable the durability of the electronic record for the established storage period.
A fine in the amount of EUR 500 to EUR 11,000 shall be imposed on a legal entity for a misdemeanor if it prevents verification of the credibility, originality and immutability of an electronic document or does not keep electronic documents according to the procedures provided by this new law. For such misdemeanor a natural person will be fined in the amount of EUR 30 to EUR 1,500. Finally, in the case of repeated violations, a ban on performing activities for a period of three to six months will be imposed, says on PejovicLegal.
