3.2.16 Formation of electronic contracts in the Lesotho Bill
Section 10(1) provides that where an electronic communication is used in the
formation of a contract, that contract shall not be denied legal effect, validity or
enforceability on the sole ground that an electronic communication was used to make
an offer or to accept an offer.
3.2.17 Formation of agreements in the RSA ECT Act
Section 22(1) of the ECT Act provides that an agreement is not without legal force and
effect merely because it was concluded partly or in whole by means of data
messages.356
The above provisions of the Bill and the ECT Act validate contracts that are
electronically entered according to the principles of the law of contract,357 as
discussed. It was discussed that an ordinary electronic contract can be concluded
through the use of data messages such as an email communication.358 An electronic
contract can further be concluded through various means, some of which are
contained in the Bill and the ECT Act, as discussed below.
3.2.18 Time of dispatch and receipt of communication in the Lesotho Bill
The time of dispatch of an electronic communication occurs when it enters an
information system outside the control of the originator, or of the person who sent the
electronic communication on behalf of the originator.359 Where the originator and
addressee are in the same information system, dispatch occurs when it is capable of
being retrieved by the addressee.360 The time of receipt happens when an electronic
communication enters the designated information system,361 or when an electronic
communication is sent to an information system of the address that is not the
designated information system, receipt occurs when the electronic communication is
capable of being retrieved by the addressee at that address and the addressee
356
S22 (1) ECT Act.
Buys (2004: 97).
358 Papadopoulos et al (2012: 42); Council for Scientific and Industrial Research v Fijen CSIR 1996 (2) SA 379 is
the authority that authorised the use of an email communication prior to the enactment of the ECT Act.
359 S12 (1) of the Bill.
360 S12 (2) id.
361 S13 (1) id.
357
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