The Electronic Transactions Act 1998 came into effect in July 1998. Attempting to maintain a balance between effecting a  comprehensive  legal  regime  and  affording efficacy to commerce, the Act achieves conformance with global standards without over-regulation.  The Act provides for and regulates the following:

• Legal recognition of electronic signatures & records
  The Act establishes three principles relating to electronic records and signatures.  First, information shall not be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability solely because it is an electronic record.  Secondly, where there is a legal requirement that information must be written, an electronic record satisfies that requirement. Thirdly, where
  the law requires a signature, an electronic signature will satisfy the requirement.
   
• Retention of electronic records
  Where there is a legal requirement that certain documents, records or information be retained, the requirement is satisfied  in so far as  the electronic record comprising the information remains accessible so as to be usable for subsequent  reference; the electronic record is retained in the format in which it was originally generated, sent or received; the record  enables  the  identification  of the origin and destination of an electronic record and the date
  and time when it was sent or received, is retained.
   
• Liability of service providers
  A network service provider shall not be subject to any civil or criminal liability in respect of third party material of electronic records to which the service provider   merely provides access if such liability is based on the making, publication, dissemination  or  distribution  of  such  materials or the infringement of any rights subsisting in or in relation to such material.
   
• Electronic Contracts
  Offer  and  acceptance  may  be expressed by means of electronic transmissions.  The Act puts into place rules which  will  regulate  the  formation  and  validity  of  electronic  contracts and the effectiveness of such contracts
  between parties.
   
• Secure Electronic Records & Signatures 
  An electronic record is a secure electronic record if it verified as not having been altered since a specified point in time up till the time of verification.

• unique to the person using it
• capable of identifying such person
• created in a manner or using a means under the sole control of the person using it; and
• is linked to the electronic record to which it relates in a manner such that if   the record was changed, the
  electronic signature would be invalidated.      
   
• Duties of Certification Authorities
  The  statutory  criteria  is  specified and provides a comprehensive list of requirements of a Certification Authority under the Act.