DEVELOPING A LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ELECTRONIC CONTRACTS IN THE CONTEXT OF TRADITIONAL CONTRACT THEORY: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY
1. Introduction. – 2. Determinants of the Electronic Contract Session. – 2.1. The Nature of the Electronic Contract. – 2.2. Offer and Acceptance via Electronic Means. – 3. Peculiarity of Electronic Contract. – 3.1. Forms of Electronic Contract Session. – 3.1.1. The Actual Electronic Contract Session. – 3.1.2. The Virtual Electronic Contracts Session. – 3.2. Legislative and Judicial Guarantees Regarding the Electronic Contract Session. – 3.2.1. At the Legislative Level. – 3.2.1.1. Recognizing the Legal Validity of the Information Contained in Data Messages. – 3.2.1.2. Providing Some Procedures to Verify the Sender and Receiver of Data Messages. – 3.2.2. At the Level of Judicial Application. – 3.2.2.1. Recognizing the Legal Value of Expressing will in Electronic Contracts. – 3.2.2.2. Equality between Electronic Documents and Traditional Documents as Proof. – 4. Conclusion. – 5. Research Results. – 6. Recommendations.
The role of digital communication means has become significant in our daily lives. These means have become the pulsating heart in achieving instant and rapid communication among people and concluding numerous contracts via the Internet. Therefore, this paper aims to shed light on the concept of electronically concluded contracts, which the Qatari legislator overlooked regulating in Civil Law No. 22 of 2004 and Law by Decree No. 16 of 2010 by issuing the Electronic Transactions and Commerce Law, merely contenting with the provision in Article 4 of this latter law, stating that it is permissible to express offer or acceptance using an electronic means of communication. Regarding the research problem, the term “electronic contract” has become prevalent in many jurisprudential writings, although there is, in fact, no contract concluded entirely electronically; instead, there exists a contract concluded using an electronic means. Consequently, questions have arisen about the nature of the session of this type of contract in which the contracting parties do not convene in one place but synchronise in time. Do we apply the same rules that govern traditional contract sessions, or do we need new legal rules that are compatible with this technological advancement in communication and interaction between contract parties ? This research aims to highlight the problem of not regulating electronic contracts under the Qatari Civil Code. It also aims to propose legal solutions to reorganise these contracts in general, with a focus on the contract session to improve the regulation of all forms of this type of contract. In this regard, the authors attempt to describe the determinants of the electronic contract and explain its privilege.
Methods:
In this research, the analytical approach is adopted by studying the texts of the articles regulating the contract session in the Qatari Civil Code and those regulating the offer and acceptance using an electronic means in Qatari Decree-Law No. 16 of 2010, which promulgates the Electronic Transactions and Commerce Law. By analysing these legal texts, the research aims to highlight the nature of the legal system for electronic contracts in Qatari legislation, ultimately providing legal protection to remote contracting parties and achieving contractual security. This, in turn, upholds the principles of contractual justice sought by legal systems regardless of their historical sources. Moreover, it serves as one of the most important means to attract investment due to its close association with transactional security and respect for legitimate expectations upon which investors rely in forming the visions they seek to achieve.
Results and Conclusions:
In this paper, the authors conclude with some of the most important results, including the lack of specialised studies and Qatari judicial applications addressing the problems arising from these contracts. Moreover, the electronic contract scarcely differs in its substantive provisions from the traditional contract except for the electronic means used in its conclusion. Furthermore, there is a clear discrepancy in the electronic methods of offer and acceptance due to the various methods and aspects used.
Abstract
The role of digital communication means has become significant in our daily lives. These means have become the pulsating heart in achieving instant and rapid communication among people and concluding numerous contracts via the Internet. Therefore, this paper aims to shed light on the concept of electronically concluded contracts, which the Qatari legislator overlooked regulating in Civil Law No. 22 of 2004 and Law by Decree No. 16 of 2010 by issuing the Electronic Transactions and Commerce Law, merely contenting with the provision in Article 4 of this latter law, stating that it is permissible to express offer or acceptance using an electronic means of communication. Regarding the research problem, the term “electronic contract” has become prevalent in many jurisprudential writings, although there is, in fact, no contract concluded entirely electronically; instead, there exists a contract concluded using an electronic means. Consequently, questions have arisen about the nature of the session of this type of contract in which the contracting parties do not convene in one place but synchronise in time. Do we apply the same rules that govern traditional contract sessions, or do we need new legal rules that are compatible with this technological advancement in communication and interaction between contract parties ? This research aims to highlight the problem of not regulating electronic contracts under the Qatari Civil Code. It also aims to propose legal solutions to reorganise these contracts in general, with a focus on the contract session to improve the regulation of all forms of this type of contract. In this regard, the authors attempt to describe the determinants of the electronic contract and explain its privilege.
Methods:
In this research, the analytical approach is adopted by studying the texts of the articles regulating the contract session in the Qatari Civil Code and those regulating the offer and acceptance using an electronic means in Qatari Decree-Law No. 16 of 2010, which promulgates the Electronic Transactions and Commerce Law. By analysing these legal texts, the research aims to highlight the nature of the legal system for electronic contracts in Qatari legislation, ultimately providing legal protection to remote contracting parties and achieving contractual security. This, in turn, upholds the principles of contractual justice sought by legal systems regardless of their historical sources. Moreover, it serves as one of the most important means to attract investment due to its close association with transactional security and respect for legitimate expectations upon which investors rely in forming the visions they seek to achieve.
Results and Conclusions:
In this paper, the authors conclude with some of the most important results, including the lack of specialised studies and Qatari judicial applications addressing the problems arising from these contracts. Moreover, the electronic contract scarcely differs in its substantive provisions from the traditional contract except for the electronic means used in its conclusion. Furthermore, there is a clear discrepancy in the electronic methods of offer and acceptance due to the various methods and aspects used.
About Authors
Ph.D. (Law), Associate Professor of Private Law, College of Law, Qatar University, Qatar Mohamed.
salem@qu.edu.qa
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1919-7184
Corresponding author, responsible for writing and investigation.
Tarek Gomaa Rashed
Ph.D. (Law), Associate Professor of Private Law, College of Law, Qatar University, Qatar
tr.gomaa@qu.edu.qa
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6099-2588
Co-author, responsible for writing and investigation.
Ahmed Qatami
Lawyer, LLM (Law), College of Law, Qatar University, Qatar
ahmedstlawyer@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3424-5571
Co-author, responsible for writing and investigation.
Competing interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Disclaimer: The authors declare that their opinions and views expressed in this manuscript are free of any impact of any organizations.
Copyright: © 2025 Mohamed Salem Abou El Farag, Tariq Rashid and Ahmed Qatami. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Вступ.
Роль цифрових засобів зв’язку стала значною у нашому повсякденному житті. Ці засоби стали, ніби серце, що пульсує, у досягненні миттєвої та швидкої комунікації між людьми та в укладенні численних договорів через Інтернет. Таким чином, метою цієї статті є з’ясування концепції електронних договорів, яку катарський законодавець оминув увагою, адже, регулюючи в Цивільному кодексі закон №22 від 2004 р. та закон, затверджений Указом № 16 від 2010 року, видав Закон про електронні транзакції та комерцію, просто задовольняючись положенням статті 4 цього останнього закону, вказавши, що дозволено здійснювати оферту або акцепт за допомогою електронних засобів зв’язку. Що стосується проблеми дослідження, то термін «електронний договір» став домінувати у багатьох юридичних працях, хоча фактично не існує жодного договору, укладеного повністю в електронному вигляді; натомість існує договір, укладений за допомогою електронних засобів. Отже, виникають питання щодо характеру сесії цього типу договору, в якому сторони не збираються в одному місці, а синхронізуються в часі. Чи застосовуємо ми ті самі правила, які регулюють традиційні договірні сесії, чи нам потрібні нові правові норми, сумісні з цим технологічним прогресом у спілкуванні та взаємодії між сторонами договору? Це дослідження має на меті висвітлити проблему регулювання електронних договорів у Цивільному кодексі Катару. Ще однією ціллю є запропонувати правові рішення щодо реорганізації цих договорів загалом і договірної сесії, зокрема, для вдосконалення регулювання всіх форм цього виду договору. У зв’язку з цим автори намагаються описати детермінанти електронного договору та пояснити його привілеї.
Методи.
У цьому дослідженні аналітичний підхід застосовано для вивчення текстів статей, що регулюють договірну сесію в Цивільному кодексі Катару, і статей, які регулюють оферту та акцепт за допомогою електронних засобів у катарському законі, затвердженому Указом № 16 від 2010 року, який оприлюднює Закон про електронні транзакції та торгівлю. Висвітлення природи правової системи для електронних договорів у законодавстві Катару забезпечить правовий захист віддалених договірних сторін, що зрештою гарантує договірну безпеку. Це, у свою чергу, підтримує принципи договірної справедливості, до яких прагнуть правові системи незалежно від їхніх історичних джерел. Крім того, він є одним із найважливіших засобів залучення інвестицій через тісний зв’язок із безпекою транзакцій і повагою до законних очікувань, на які інвестори покладаються, формуючи своє бачення, якого вони прагнуть досягти.
Результати та висновки.
У цій статті автори підсумовують деякі з найважливіших результатів, зокрема відсутність у Катарі спеціалізованих досліджень і звернень до суду щодо вирішення проблем, що виникають у зв’язку з цими договорами. Крім того, електронний договір мало чим відрізняється за своїми основними положеннями від традиційного договору, за винятком електронних засобів, які використовуються для його укладення. Крім того, існує очевидна розбіжність в електронних методах оферти та акцепту через різні методи та аспекти, що використовуються.
Publication history
-
Date of submission: 18 Jan 2024
Date of acceptance: 27 Jan 2024
Date of Online First publication: 16 Dec 2024
Whether the manuscript was fast tracked? - Yes
Number of reviewer report submitted in first round: 2 reports
Number of revision rounds: 1 round, revised version submitted 07 Apr 2024
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How to cite it?
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Abou El Farag MS, Rashed TG and Qatami A, ‘Developing a Legal Framework for Electronic Contracts in the Context of Traditional Contract Theory: An Analytical Study’ (2025) 8(1) Access to Justice in Eastern Europe 166-92 <https://doi.org/10.33327/AJEE-18-8.1-a000105>
