New Regulatory Decree for Digital Signature Law

The Decree No. 182/2019 (the “Decree”) reframes the digital signature infrastructure, which now consists of:

1. the Main Certification Authority,
2. the Licensing Entity,
3. licensed certificate holders, including their certificate authorities and registration authorities, according to the services provided,
4. time stamp authorities
5. certificate subscribers,
6. third-party users,
7. the certification agents recognized by the Application Authority,
8. the Auditory Entity established by Section 34 of the Digital Signature Law No. 25, 506 (“LFG” after its Spanish acronym), and
9. trusted third-party service providers.

In addition, the Decree establishes that the digital signature of an electronic document satisfies the certification requirement set for handwritten signatures. Furthermore, the Decree establishes that a legal obligation to preserve documentation may be met by preserving digital documents with a digital signature. These documents must be preserved in a way which guarantees the integrity, accessibility and availability of said documents. 

The Decree also creates the figure of the trusted third-party service provider, which provide services regarding the preservation of digital files, the custody of wills on electronic format, electronic contracts, and any other transactions trusted by the parties to a depositary, the due notification of electronic documents, operation of block chains for the preservation of electronic documents, management of smart contracts, and other digital services. Furthermore, such services also include the electronic certification, digital identification and other services detailed by the Licensing Entity. Individuals, legal entities, consortiums, public entities and non-state public entities may all be trusted third-party service providers.

Lastly, the Decree repeals regulatory Decrees No. 2628/02, 283/03 and 724/06, and sections8, 9 and 10 of Decree No. 561/2016.

In addition, on April 9, 2019 the Secretary of Administrative Modernization of the President’s Chief of Staff passed Resolution No. 38/2019, which approved the technical methods and proceedings for the capture and verification of digital prints and photographs for applicants requesting digital certificates.