This Practice Note covers:

• key provisions of Kuwait Law No. 20/2014 on Electronic Transactions;

• originator's obligations;

• signatory's obligations;

• technical controls for protecting electronic signatures;

• procedures for verifying the protected signature; and

• government use of electronic documents.

• Competent authority: The regulatory authority which has jurisdiction, or in this case the authority responsible for providing and maintaining the software by which the electronic document can be securely signed and shared as required.

• Originator: The party sending out the electronic document requiring a ‘signature'.

• Parties: Natural and legal persons, including merchants, companies, and economic entities, associations, unions, institutions and other establishments and associations or groups of people.

• Signatory: The receiver of the document to be signed.

E-commerce has greatly developed in Kuwait in recent years, especially with the spread of the internet and the use of smartphones as people increasingly choose to acquire their daily necessities via the internet because of the advantages that are related to profit, time and ease. This leads to a greater need for the use of electronic signatures, which are governed by Kuwait Law No. 20/2014.