[thelist] Legally binding emails [was:] Outlook feature that can bite back

Kasimir K evolt at kasimir-k.fi
Thu May 6 12:51:56 CDT 2004


Hello,

Michael Pemberton wrote:
> As more and more people are using email as a legal documen...

James Aylard wrote:
> by hacking its database file with a text editor, etc. Anyone who uses email
> for formal legal agreements, if that is even legally acceptable, is taking a
> huge risk regardless of the email client involved. Email is simply not a
> secure medium.

I too was under impression that emails under some circumstances are 
legally binding. Where I got this impression, and what those 
circumstances would be is not clear though :-)

Probably this, as legal matters usually do, varies between countries. 
But how could this be enforced? Both sender and recipient may edit the 
mail. Then again, at least in some countries, ISPs are obliged to save 
emails they are passing (I think... (RIP bill in the UK?)), and messages 
could be verified against these archives.

Any experiences?

.kasimir


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