“Logistyka” talks to Dariusz Gacoń, President of the Management Board of E-Telbank Sp. z o.o. – the first and so far only company in the country issuing and managing public key certificates used for electronic signature verification.
Iwo Nowak – Since the autumn of 2001, there has been a lot of talk and writing about electronic signatures in Poland, but in reality, perhaps relatively few people know that it can already be safely used in practice…
Dariusz Gacoń – That is correct. On October 11th of last year, the President of the Republic of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, was the first in Poland to use an electronic signature. In this way – apart from, of course, providing a traditional signature – he signed the Act on Electronic Signatures. This document creates the legal basis for the development of the electronic economy in our country and defines the operating principles for certification service providers. Although we are waiting for the implementing regulations for this Act to come into force, I can already say that we were the first and are still the only ones to have introduced a full commercial offer of certification services on the Polish market, allowing clients to safely use electronic mail both for business and private purposes. At the same time, the confidentiality of transactions in electronic commerce and banking is secured, and the use of an electronic signature ultimately authenticates the parties to these transactions, for example, when making purchases in online stores.
I.N. – The Act, which will enter into force on August 16th of this year, is based on the relevant European Union document.
D.G. – The pan-European legal framework for electronic signatures was defined in Directive 99/93/EC. This is a fundamental document for the development of legislation regarding electronic signatures in Europe and the world, because – it is worth emphasizing – this is one of the rare cases where European legislators have found followers in North America. Directive 99/93/EC opens up opportunities for the development of electronic communication not only in the economy, but also in the social sphere, as well as in politics. Our Act on Electronic Signatures is based precisely on this EU document.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2002/1.