Commercial Electronic Instruments

This paper surveys major issues arising from technical analysis of commercial papers in the electronic format. It begins with the discussion of commercial papers, and then addresses three main topics that correspond to the major divisions of technical solutions in producing electronic commercial papers. These divisions include definition of electronic document (such as interrelation between written, signed and original document and the connections between legal arrangements and corresponding topics in evidence theory), formation of electronic commercial papers (including the procedural mechanics, and the rules that govern the production of electronic commercial papers), and objection to commercial papers (such as forged documents and human mistakes, and the legal remedies that follow from breach of law). In each section, we provide a precise insight to legal and technical rules such as Electronic Commerce Act (ratified in 2003 by the Iranian parliament) and newly drafted provisions on electronic commercial papers.