MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Ricardo García Giorgana, Carlos Chavez Alanis and Xavier Careaga Franco, Galicia Abogados
connection rates, which will be used to resolve any interconnection disputes.
by the Economy Secretary. These signatures meet the same requirements as uncertified signatures, but with the added assurance of having been validated by a certification service provider. The 2012 Advanced Electronic Signature Law regulates the legal effects of advanced and cer - tified electronic signatures, granting electronic documents and data messages the same proba - tive value as traditional ones. This is particularly relevant in the fiscal sector, enabling tools like the tax mailbox for declarations, appeals and official notices. These documents hold full evi - dentiary value under fiscal laws. The Federal Code of Civil Procedures and Commercial Code also validate electronically generated information as evidence, provided the method of generation, communication or storage is reliable. NOM-151-SCFI-2016 man - dates standards for preserving data messages, ensuring the integrity, authenticity and availabil - ity of electronic records over time. Additionally, the Consumer Protection Law allows electronic signatures for eCommerce, provided minimum standards are met. While judicial precedents affirm electronic sig - nature validity, their susceptibility to alteration poses challenges. In disputes, the signatory must prove reliability and authenticity, which often requires technological evidence. For criti - cal agreements, using signatures with the high - est probative value is advisable. However, these challenges have slowed adoption. The USMCA (Section 19.6) mandates that elec - tronic signatures cannot be denied legal validity solely because they are electronic. It prohibits measures limiting authentication methods or compliance demonstrations in disputes and
8. Trust Services and Digital Entities 8.1 Trust Services and Electronic Signatures/Digital Identity Schemes Mexico’s legal framework for trust services, electronic signatures and digital identity is less comprehensive than the EU’s electronic identifi - cation, authentication, and trust services (eIDAS) regulation. The Mexican Commercial Code, the basis for electronic commerce, recognises elec - tronic signatures as equivalent to handwritten ones under certain conditions. It distinguish - es three types – simple electronic signature, advanced or reliable electronic signature and certified advanced electronic signature, defined as follows. • Simple electronic signature: consists of electronic data linked or associated with a message, serving to identify the signatory and demonstrate their approval of the mes - sage’s content. This signature has the same legal validity as a handwritten signature and is acceptable as evidence in court. • Advanced or reliable electronic signature: not only identifies the signatory and shows their approval of the message but also meets additional requirements such as being unique to the signatory and under their exclusive control at the time of signing, allowing the detection of any changes to the signature after signing and ensuring that any alteration to the message’s content can be detected after the signature. • Certified signature (now called eSignature): a signature that has been verified and certified by a certification service provider accredited
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