Electronic Transactions Act · 2008 Revised Edition · Part VIII · Duties of Certification Authorities
30. Representations upon issuance of certificate
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
By issuing a certificate, a certification authority represents, to any person who reasonably relies on the certificate or a digital signature verifiable by the public key listed in the certificate, that the certification authority has issued the certificate in accordance with any applicable certification practice statement incorporated by reference in the certificate, or of which the relying person has notice.
certification authority
“certification authority” means a person who or an organisation that issues a certificate;
In the absence of such certification practice statement, the certification authority represents that it has confirmed that —
certification practice statement
“certification practice statement” means a statement issued by a certification authority to specify the practices that the certification authority employs in issuing certificates;
the certification authority has complied with all applicable requirements of this Act in issuing the certificate, and if the certification authority has published the certificate or otherwise made it available to such relying person, that the subscriber listed in the certificate has accepted it;
Electronic Transactions 27 2008 Ed.
the subscriber identified in the certificate holds the private key corresponding to the public key listed in the certificate;
the subscriber’s public key and private key constitute a functioning key pair;
all information in the certificate is accurate, unless the certification authority has stated in the certificate or incorporated by reference in the certificate a statement that the accuracy of specified information is not confirmed; and
that the certification authority has no knowledge of any material fact which if it had been included in the certificate would adversely affect the reliability of the representations in paragraphs (a)
to (d).
Where there is an applicable certification practice statement which has been incorporated by reference in the certificate, or of which the relying person has notice, subsection (2) shall apply to the extent that the representations are not inconsistent with the certification practice statement.
Terms defined in s 2
certification authority
Defined · s 2“certification authority” means a person who or an organisation that issues a certificate;
certification practice statement
Defined · s 2“certification practice statement” means a statement issued by a certification authority to specify the practices that the certification authority employs in issuing certificates;
digital signature
Defined · s 2“digital signature” means an electronic signature consisting of a transformation of an electronic record using an asymmetric cryptosystem and a hash function such that a person having the initial untransformed electronic record and the signer’s public key can accurately determine — (a) whether the transformation was created using the private key that corresponds to the signer’s public key; and (b) whether the initial electronic record has been altered since the transformation was made;
information
Defined · s 2“information” includes data, text, images, sound, codes, computer programs, software and databases;
key pair
Defined · s 2“key pair”, in an asymmetric cryptosystem, means a private key and its mathematically related public key, having the property that the public key can verify a digital signature that the private key creates;
private key
Defined · s 2“private key” means the key of a key pair used to create a digital signature;
public key
Defined · s 2“public key” means the key of a key pair used to verify a digital signature;
subscriber
Defined · s 2“subscriber” means a person who is the subject named or identified in a certificate issued to him and who holds a private key that corresponds to a public key listed in that certificate;
Part IX
Duties of Subscribers
Part XI
Government Use of Electronic Records and Signatures
Part XII