• To facilitate electronic communications by means of reliable electronic   records; 
• To facilitate e-commerce and to promote the development of the legal and   business infrastructure necessary to implement secure electronic commerce; 
• To facilitate electronic filing of documents with government agencies and   statutory corporations, and to promote efficient delivery of government services   by means of reliable electronic records;        
• To minimise the incidence of forged electronic records, intentional and   unintentional alternation of records, and fraud in electronic commerce and other   electronic transactions;    
• To help to establish uniformity of rules, regulations and standards   regarding the authentication and other electronic transactions; and    
• To promote public confidence in the integrity and reliability of electronic   records and e-commerce, and to foster the development of e-commerce through the   use of digital signatures to provide authenticity and integrity to   correspondence in any electronic medium.              

Broadly,   the ETA seeks to:         

• enact a commercial code to support e-commerce transactions;                 
• set the legislative framework for Certification Authorities; 
• enable electronic applications and licences for the public sector; and 
• clarify network service providers' liability for third party content.

• The ETA clarifies the rights and obligations of transacting parties by   setting out provisions dealing with issues related to the formation of   electronic contracts. It also gives legal recognition on the use of electronic   records and signatures and their secure counterparts.

• The ETA stipulates the duties of Certification Authorities (CAs) and their   subscribers and provides for the appointment of a Controller of CAs to regulate   and license CAs in Mauritius. 

There is a provision for public sector agencies to accept electronic filing   and issue electronic documents without having to amend their respective Acts.   The ETA also provides that public sector agencies can specify as regulations,   additional requirements for the retention of electronic records under their   purview.
See Section 40 of ETA for more information.

The ETA provides that a service provider is not subject to criminal or civil   liability for third party material for which the provider merely provides access.
See Section 9 of ETA for more information.

The ETA is partly based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce.                                        

Under the ETA, an digital signature shall be treated as a secure   digital signature if it can be verified, through the application of a   prescribed security procedure or a commercially reasonable security procedure   agreed to by the parties involved so long as the signature is:      

• unique to the person using it; 
• capable of identifying such person; 
• created in a manner or using a means under the sole control of the person   using it; and 
• linked to the electronic record to which it relates in a manner such that if   the record is changed, the digital signature would be invalidated. 

See Section 16 for more information.

There are 4 ways in which a digital signature can be given legal recognition   under the ETA:

• use certificates issued by a licensed CA; 
• use certificates issued by a CA outside Mauritius but recognised by the   Controller of CAs; 
• use certificates issued by an approved Government CA; or 
• establish a contractual agreement between the parties involved in the   transaction to use a prescribed digital signature mechanism that is secure. 

See Section 19 for more information.

The duties of a CA include using trustworthy systems in performing its   services and maintaining secure procedures for the issuance, renewal,   suspension, revocation and publication of its certificates.
See Sections 24 to 32 for more information.

The duties of the subscriber include providing accurate and complete   information when applying for certificate, safeguarding the private key and   initiating suspension or revocation requests if his private key is   compromised.
See Sections 33 to 36 for more information.

The role of the Controller of CAs (CCA) is to regulate and license the   activities of CAs in Mauritius. As CAs perform a trusted role in verifying the   identities of parties in electronic transactions, the CCA seeks to provide the   assurance that the CAs' responsibilities are met and that these services are   made available with high integrity, security and service standards.

• The Controller of CAs will maintain a publicly accessible database   containing a CA disclosure record for each licensed CA.