The Impact of Information Technology in Electronic Contracting

Abstract

With the expansion of global communication the commercial world has changed its proceedings.
The Internet has played a crucial role in the development of new ways of doing business, by creating
a major global market. E-commerce is one of the main subjects discussed in legal environments last
years. The need to develop legal elaboration with the same pace as the technology innovation
brought a legal revolution in electronic commerce. In Albania the elements of this revolution
switched sides: the legal regulation came before the practical usage. The Albanian legislation has
responded to this inclination by creating a complete legal framework regarding electronic commerce.
One of the most important legal aspects of the electronic revolution is the development of distance
contracts. Distance contracts have the same legal validity as the traditional paper contracts, but as we
will show the implementation in practice of this principle is by all means more complicated.
Information technology is becoming one of the most influencing factors in the global economy
structure, so its development will inevitably help Albania in having a smoother transition. In this
paper after a theoretical discussion of distance contracts and their legal validity we aim to investigate
the way in which information technology regarding electronic documents and especially electronic
signature, influences the development of new ways of contracting, with a special focus regarding the
increase of public trust in these innovations.