One of the opening sessions of Legal IT 7.0, today in Montréal: Patrick Cormier, CCCT’s CEO, addresses electronic signatures.

A clear definition: « A signature is a permanent mark related to an object, a document or electronic data that is:
• associated with a specific person;
• unique to the person;
• proof of an implicit or explicit intention underlying the signature. »

Caution to jurists out there: The signature’s reliability and quality ≠ legal validity of the signature

So… what is an ideal signature? « A signature presenting high levels of reliability and convenience. Achievement of an ideal signature in the electronic world is not easy. With the present state of technology, and inverse relationship exists between convenience and reliability. »

How do we choose an electronic signature solution? The following steps are suggested.

For the complete presentation, be sure to visit the Legal IT 7.0 website (documents and PowerPoint presentations available soon).

For those of you who have attended the Forum 2012 last October, you’ve had a glimpse of the drafted guidelines. We’re happy to announce the official publication of the Use of Electronic Communication Devices in Court Proceedings, prepared by the Social Media Intellaction Working Group.

“These Guidelines are founded on the “open courts” principle, which requires transparency and accountability in the judicial system to foster public confidence in the administration of justice.”

Additionally, you may be interested in a Canada-wide overview of the Policies on Live Text Based Communications. Furthermore, The Telegram’s article Twitter’s double-edged sword mentions addresses the topic at hand.

Serving self represented litigants was a focus of the Canadian Forum on Court Technology, and therefore the news of the proposed changes at the Federal Court, as reported by Michel Adrien Sheppard in his article Federal Court Committee wants to change rules to stop nuisance suits and help self-represented litigants  will be worth watching. The recommendations can be found in the  Subcommittee on Global Review of the Federal Courts Rules: Report of the subcommittee / Le sous-comité sur l’examen global des Règles des Cours fédérales: Rapport du sous-comite.

19. The Federal Courts should make better use of their websites to enhance access to justice, particularly by self-represented individuals. Measures include creating unofficial, non-legal user-friendly summaries and checklists concerning frequently-used procedural steps such as motions and appeals, providing pdf versions of the Forms that users can type into, and giving guidance, especially to self-represented parties, concerning the most appropriate and effective ways of conducting of litigation. p. 38