Ireland’s Internet law is 20 years old, it’s time to update it.
The main objective when setting Oathello up was to help make it easier to get things done in the legal system, like completing important documents and transactions.
Travelling across Dublin for 2 hours with printed-off documents to meet a notary or court officer - and carrying around cash to pay them before closing a case or transaction - seems then as it does now to have very little to do with keeping the wheels of commerce and justice moving efficiently.
This is especially so when today as it was 4 years ago - the most basic infrastructure of the internet provides ever faster and more secure ways of doing things.
Sadly, the law and the internet have not grown up together.
Many factors have contributed to this and the best explanation can be found here, where the continued, frustrating, yet understandable despondency between the law and the internet is predicted brilliantly.
Ireland is as good a jurisdiction as any to illustrate the effects of this. Our placement as an enabler of technology and its benefits is one reason why, our intention to stay that way is but another. The Electronic Commerce Act 2000 was written into law to welcome the internet to business and to make things like email and the signing of basic contracts online legal. Documents relating to court procedure, property, investments, and private matters remain exempt from this law and still require paper and the physical presence of a lawyer or person to be completed.
Paper and the presence of a trusted third party provide age-old peace of mind when a considerable amount of capital and risk is at stake. But 20 years later, with the advancement of video, electronic signing, and payments technology, it is clear we need to let go of less reliable substrates like paper and face-to-face meetings offline to meet that understandable need for peace of mind.
Digital solutions for important life and company events have been embraced by start-ups and some financial institutions, but transactions important to the public, small businesses, and the lawyers who facilitate them remain hampered by gravely outdated legislation.
Lawyers and the public they serve, have ironically been left behind by the law.
The speed and security of a mortgage, loan, or appearance in court - among other things - are dependent on change. You can help bring the benefit of technology to these documents, and align them with the way business is done today, here:
Petition to review and update the Electronic Commerce Act 2000