Antigua and Barbuda’s Electronic Evidence Act, 2013

The Electronic Evidence Act of 2013 was introduced in Antigua and Barbuda to modernise the legal system’s approach to handling electronic records in legal proceedings. This law acknowledges the increasing reliance on electronic communication and records in business, personal, and governmental contexts, addressing the need for such records to be recognised legally and used reliably as evidence in court.

The primary purpose of the Act is to:

Support advancements in technology and adapt the legal framework to accommodate electronic records and signatures, making it easier for courts to deal with digital evidence confidently.

Provide legal recognition for electronic records, allowing them to hold the same evidentiary weight as traditional paper documents.

Simplify and clarify the rules for the admissibility of electronic records in legal proceedings, ensuring that they can be used in courts without unnecessary legal barriers.

Part I: Preliminary

1. Interpretation
   Defines key terms used throughout the Act, such as ‘electronic record,’ ‘digital signature,’ ‘electronic communication,’ and ‘authentication,’ providing clarity on legal meanings and implications of these terms.

Part ii: Admissibility

3. Amendment to authentication and best evidence rules
   This Act modifies rules relating to authentication and best evidence for electronic records without changing other admissibility rules.
4. Common law and statutory rules
   Allows courts to consider principles for electronic evidence admissibility within common law or statutory contexts.
5. General admissibility of electronic evidence
   States that electronic records cannot be excluded solely on the grounds that they are electronic.
6. Application of the best evidence rule
   Details that the best evidence rule can be satisfied by proving the integrity of the computer system used to create or store the electronic data, with conditions for presuming integrity if met.
7. Integrity of information and specific admissibility rules
   Outlines additional criteria for the admissibility of electronic records, including conditions under which they are presumed to be complete, unaltered, and certified.
8. Print-outs
   Establishes that printouts of electronic records, when relied upon as the record, meet the best evidence rule requirements.
9. The burden to prove authenticity
   It places the burden on the party to introduce electronic evidence to prove its authenticity.
10. Standards
    Allows evidence about standards and practices used to record or preserve electronic data to determine admissibility.
11. Affidavits
    Electronic records are permitted to be introduced as evidence in affidavit form.
12. Agreement on admissibility of evidence
    States that electronic records may be admitted if the parties agree, subject to court discretion, with additional restrictions in criminal cases.
13. Electronic signature
    Confirms that electronic signatures have legal force and validity.
14. Electronic signature requirements
    Defines the conditions under which electronic signatures satisfy legal signature requirements.
15. Alternative techniques and procedures for the production of electronic evidence
    Allows electronic evidence to be authenticated through alternative techniques such as notarisation or forensics.

Part iii: Miscellaneous

16. Admissibility of electronic records from other countries
    Specifies that foreign electronic records are admissible if their integrity is verified under standards similar to those of the Act.
17. Recognition of foreign electronic documents and signatures
    Allows electronic documents and signatures from other jurisdictions to be recognised, with conditions based on treaties or judicial discretion.
18. Interpretation in accordance with internationally accepted principles
    Stipulates that the Act’s provisions should align with internationally accepted principles of technological neutrality and functional equivalence.
19. Regulations
    Grants authority to the Minister to establish regulations consistent with international best practices.
20. Conflict of laws
    This Act provides that, in cases of conflict, it prevails over other laws regarding electronic evidence in Antigua and Barbuda.

Schedules

• Schedule 1
  Lists additional regulations and standards referenced or required by the Act.