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Lanka ratifies UN e-convention
View(s):Sri Lanka has ratified the United Nations Electronic Communications convention that will enable the country to give legal certainty to e-contracts and e-commerce.
Sri Lanka becomes the first country in South Asia and second in Asia after Singapore to ratify the convention.
The Convention will enter into force for Sri Lanka on February 1 next year,
The ICT Agency (ICTA) led efforts to get Sri Lanka to join the UN Electronic Communications Convention bore fruit, when Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Dr. Rohan Perera deposited the Instrument of Ratification in New York, a few days ago.
This came after the Cabinet of Ministers gave approval in early June, authorising the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ratify the only UN Convention on the subject of Electronic Commerce and Electronic Contracts.
Countries like Australia, Thailand, Vietnam and China are already preparing domestic legislation to ratify this Convention. Sri Lanka’s ratification of this Important UN Convention was possible because the country already has the required domestic legislation, i.e. the Electronic Transactions Act No. 19 of 2006, which is based on this Convention.
ICTA’s Legal Advisor Jayantha Fernando said: “This ratification will ensure greater legal certainty for e-commerce and e-business providers who wish to use Sri Lankan law as the applicable law and ensure international validity for such e-contracts.
“This will also ensure legal validity for other international legal instruments as well as cross border funds transfers, enhancing the ability of Sri Lanka to fast track its move towards paperless trade facilitation.”