Remote Identification Procedures

On the 1st July 2016 EU Regulation 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic communications in the internal market (the ‘eIDAS’ Regulation) came into force and was as a result directly applicable to Malta. This EU Regulation provided for the repeal of the Directive 1999/93/EC which dealt with the regulation of electronic signatures. The eIDAS Regulation in substance enhances trust in electronic transactions in the EU by providing a common foundation for secure electronic interaction. As a result of the eIDAS Regulation, Government made various amendments to the then existing legislation dealing with electronic signatures. These amendments were mainly done by amending the Electronic Commerce Act (Cap. 426), whereby the then applicable provisions relating to electronic signatures were deleted, whereas new provisions were introduced to facilitate the enforcement of the eIDAS Regulation in line with the requirements of the aforesaid EU Regulation. As a result of these amendments the MCA as the competent regulator under the Electronic Commerce Act assumed the role of the supervisory body responsible for ensuring compliance with the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation.