전자(화)문서의 증거활용성 제고방안

Abstract

With the development of information and communication technology, electronic transactions and electronic communication are becoming commonplace. As a result of these circumstances, the inefficiency of the recording and archiving method by paper documents has become a problem, and on the contrary, the necessity of legal action or evidence utilization by electronic documents is increasing. However, the use of electronic documents raises the fundamental question of how to identify “paper documents, which are traditionally expressed ideas and ideas,” and “records in electronic form.” On this issue, the “functional equivalent approach” recognizes the intrinsic differences that arise in the concept of paper and electronic documents. However, if the electronic record performs the same function as the paper document in terms of the functional features of the document, the electronic record is recognized as an electronic document. And this theory suggests an approach that looks the same as the existing document. Similarly, legislation on electronic documents from around the world was established based on this functional equivalent approach. Korea already enacted the Framework Act on Electronic Transactions in 1999 and encouraged the use of electronic documents. However, despite the legislative efforts on the use of electronic documents, due to lack of legislation, document holders keep the original paper documents together to prepare for future legal disputes. Therefore, this paper examines the legal issues related to the use of electronic documents or scanned documents in litigation, and suggests ways to improve the use of such a evidence.