Yesterday, Thursday, October 31st, 2019, the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of El Salvador approved the draft of Electronic Commerce Act, which was under discussion since last May 2019 and that has been satisfactorily approved.
The importance of this new legislation is very big, considering that it is increasingly common to establish commercial relations electronically, which today are not regulated specifically but through a combination of different matters, including Commercial, Civil and Consumer Protection Law.
This newly approved legislation is relatively short (less than 40 articles) but it is the second in a series of regulations that seek to regulate day-to-day situations of Salvadorans that are gradually being digitized.
Within the group of regulations with effects on new technologies that are approved or under evaluation are: Electronic Signature Act (approved in October 2015), Electronic Commerce Act (approved in October 2019), Data Protection Act (under discussion) and Electronic Billing Act (under discussion).
The Electronic Commerce Act will enter into force one year after its publication, that is, towards the end of 2020, thus giving opportunity to the subjects regulated by said Act to adapt their platforms in accordance with the requirements established therein, thus ensuring that its entry into force is full from the beginning.
Among other situations, the Electronic Commerce Act seeks to regulate mainly the reference to: i) Mandated Subjects (Customers and Merchants of goods or services); and, ii) the legal effects of the Contracts made electronically, seeking their essential comparison with physical contracts.
As Central Law El Salvador, we have a team of lawyers prepared for the entry into force of this new regulation and we are fully available to provide advice as to its application to different businesses and industries.
Fernando Argumedo
Associate
Central Law
El Salvador
