The development of technology and its wide use in all fields have become part of our daily lives. Along with that development has come a significant increase in the use of civil and commercial transactions. That's why to make everything clear and quick, people now apply the electronic contract into the transaction. So how does it work and how it works, please also follow this article.

What is an electronic contract?

According to the provisions of Article 33 of the Law on Electronic Transactions 2005, the content of E-contract conclusion and implementation: "An electronic contract is a contract established in the form of a data message in accordance with this Law." .
In which, "Data message is information created, sent, received and stored by electronic means"
“Electronic media is a means of operation based on electrical, electronic, digital, magnetic, wireless transmission, optical, electromagnetic or similar technology.”

Electronic contract means an electronic transaction in which the parties agree on the establishment, change or termination of rights and obligations and the sending, receiving and storing of information by means of operation based on electrical technology, electronic, digital, magnetic, wireless transmission, optical, electromagnetic or similar technology.

To put it simply, E-contract is a type of contract with all four characteristics: create - send - receive - store electronically.

Features of basic electronic contracts to know

To understand clearly electronic contract What is it, first you need to find out its characteristics. The following are the basic features of an electronic contract:
Some features of electronic contracts that businesses and organizations need to understand before deciding to use them:

• All information is presented in electronic data: Compared to traditional contracts, with electronic contracts all information is stored in the form of data messages. Avoid paper information that is easy to lose.
• The contract requires at least 3 parties to participate: If the traditional contract has only 2 specific objects, the seller and the buyer, the electronic contract needs a third party. They can be network providers or digital signature certification bodies. The feature of this third party is that it does not participate in the exchange process, but only ensures the effectiveness and legality of the contract.
• Guaranteed legal value: The legality of electronic contracts is clearly stated in Article 34 of the Law on Electronic Transactions (excerpt from the government document system). It recognizes the legitimacy of an electronic contract as a traditional contract. However, it should be noted that contracts related to land use, marriage registration certificates, and other civil contracts are not legally valid.

• Easy to do anywhere, anytime: A special feature of an electronic contract compared to a traditional contract is that the two parties, including the seller and the buyer, do not need to meet in person to exchange. Instead, all information has been compiled as electronic data so it can be easily signed at any time.

Advantages of E-Contract

Here are the 4 biggest advantages of electronic contract provided to customers when using.

Legal value of electronic contracts according to the latest law

According to the provisions of Article 34 of the Law on Electronic Transactions: “The legal value of an electronic contract cannot be denied just because the contract is presented in the form of a data message.”

The use of Electronic contract has been promulgated by the state related laws, licensed to use if it meets the prescribed legal value. The CP circulars and decrees related to the use are as follows:

• Law on Electronic Transactions 2005 No. 51/2005/QH11 of the National Assembly
• Decree 52/2013/ND-CP of the Government on E-Commerce.
• Circular 47/2014/TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on e-commerce website management
• Decree 130/2018/ND-CP of the Government on Digital Signatures and Digital Signature Certification Services
• Civil Code 2015 No. 91/2015/QH13 of the National Assembly

The law has recognized the legality of electronic contract. They are used as evidence in case either party violates the terms of the contract. However, the E-contract must ensure:

• Content is guaranteed to be intact from the time it is first initialized as a complete message, except for changes in appearance that arise during sending, storing or displaying data messages.
• The content of the data message in the electronic contract is accessible. And can be used in complete form when needed. That is, the data message can be opened, read, and viewed. Under the legal encryption method ensures the reliability that the parties agree with each other.

Types of electronic contracts are widely used today

According to the form 

Traditional contracts posted on the website
Formal contract is a type of contract that has been prepared on paper, after agreeing to edit it, it will be posted on the website for the parties to sign. Usually, these contracts will be in PDF format, and check boxes to choose to agree or disagree with the terms of the contract.

Electronic contract signed via electronic transaction
The difference of this type of contract is that the information is not prepared, but is obtained during automated trading. The content will be automatically synthesized and processed by the machine during the process entered by the customer.

Then all transaction contracts will be aggregated and displayed for customers to confirm their agreement with the contract contents. In which, the seller will receive a notice of the contract and will send confirmation of all problems to the buyer through forms such as email, fax, phone call, etc.
Electronic contract via email
In this form, we will sign the contract through email. In this type, it is quite similar to the traditional contract from paper, drafting, .. all on paper. However, the only difference is that the method of communication for unification is by computer, email, etc.
The advantages of using this type of contract are fast processing, clear information, time-saving and cost-effective... However, the disadvantage is poor security, easy information leakage and Handling disputes is quite difficult

According to purpose

Economic contract/e-commerce contract
In the type of economic contract / e-commerce contract, in which one subject is a trader and the other party needs a legal function to identify the contract in the form of a data message. In particular, the data to be dataed such as contract conditions, technical standards need to ensure compliance with the provisions of law.
Specific characteristics of economic contracts/commercial contracts are summarized as follows:
A contract consists of 2 subjects, one of which is a trader and the other is a legal entity.
The main purpose of the contract is to make a profit.
The main object of the contract is the goods. In which, e-commerce contracts include goods purchase and sale contracts and service contracts.
Electronic labor contract
Like other traditional labor contracts, an electronic labor contract is a contract between an employee and an employer related to the terms, wages and obligations of both parties. The information is stored in electronic form and the value is recognized as a written employment contract.
Compared with other types of contract, this contract has the subject including the employee and the employer. In addition, there are several types of electronic labor contracts that can be mentioned such as:
- An indefinite term labor contract.
- Fixed-term labor contract.
– Seasonal labor contract or according to a certain job.
Electronic civil contract
Electronic civil contract is an agreement related to the establishment, change or termination of rights and obligations according to the provisions of law on electronic transactions. Transactions related to civil through electronic means stored as data messages in accordance with the law on electronic transactions are called written transactions.
According to current Vietnamese law, some issues belonging to certain fields cannot be used electronic contract. This includes: issuance of land use certificates, ownership of houses and other real estate, inheritance documents, marriage and divorce registration, birth certificates, death certificates and some other papers.
Therefore, we need to put in specific situations as well as clear transactions to be able to determine the nature, value and legality of the electronic contract.

Differences between e-contracts and traditional contracts

The following table compares electronic and traditional contracts to help you better understand the differences between the types of contracts.

Using electronic contracts, digital signatures with Humax

– Comprehensive management ecosystem, meeting the needs of working regardless of location. Because contract transactions are performed on every process. The internal signing process is done quickly and continuously.
– Centralized management and storage system. Not only implementing human resource management processes with uniform and centralized HR information. All records, documents and data have been securely stored on the Cloud platform. The types of records associated with each department and division are clear. Thanks to that, searching and managing becomes easy, with the right tasks and powers.
- Various types of documents. Businesses can apply for many different types of documents. Such as labor contracts, internal documents, etc. Signing and approval becomes fast with simultaneous operation on many documents.

Above is the article OOS Software introduces electronic contract to you. This is a type of contract that helps to optimize quality, save costs and be quick. You can refer to this type of contract.