On the question of the form of a civil law contract in the conditions of electronic interaction of the parties

Barinov Andrey Viktorovich, Kuznetsova Natalia Vladimirovna, Ryabova Olga Alekseevna

The article is devoted to the consideration of certain issues arising in the application of civil legislation regulating the requirements for the form of the contract when it is concluded during electronic correspondence using the information and telecommunications network "Internet". The analysis of scientific literature and judicial practice shows an ambiguous approach in determining the signs that allow us to talk about compliance with the written form of the contract during electronic interaction of the parties. The conclusion is formulated that the contract should be considered concluded in writing only in the case of an exchange of electronic documents signed with an electronic signature or its equivalent. If electronic documents originating from the parties do not contain an electronic or other signature, they should be considered as electronic messages, which, along with other evidence, may indicate the conclusion of an oral contract.

Keywords:form of contract, written form, oral form, electronic document, electronic signature, electronic correspondence, electronic messages