Does an email have the same legal standing as a letter?

drunkmonkey

Hypothetically, let's say I got a speeding fine in the post (unregisterd leter)

If the Garda or any other legal body sent the fine via email would this hold the same legal status as a unregistered letter.

in the case of a registered letter would an email and a read receipt be the same thing?

I suppose the question is does electronic communication have the same legal standing as the traditional pen and paper if it was to be used in court?

MagicSean

Never heard of a fine by email

Tom Young

Broadly speaking yes. Under the eCommerce Act. I think the last poster is right though.

drunkmonkey

Ok then, let's say the speeding fine was recieved by post and you emailed back the Garda in response to the fine to acknowledge recipt, is it the same thing as sending a registered repy via post?

This is all hypothetical. (i've never heard of a fine via email)

Tom Young

Why would you? They know you have received it. It is not the same as registered post.

AntiVirus

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Ok then, let's say the speeding fine was recieved by post and you emailed back the Garda in response to the fine to acknowledge recipt, is it the same thing as sending a registered repy via post?

This is all hypothetical. (i've never heard of a fine via email)

No but it would be the same as sending a request a Delivery Receipt for an email.

drunkmonkey

So a registered reply via post would not be the same thing as sending an email even if the reciever of the letter/email acknowledged receipt?

For the Legal discussion presume were not agreeing with the fine and are responding to the Garda to inform him of such.

(there is no speeding fine or challenge)

drunkmonkey

AntiVirus wrote: »

No but it would be the same as sending a request a Delivery Receipt for an email.

That's what I was thinking.

hobochris

Tom Young wrote: »

Broadly speaking yes. Under the eCommerce Act. I think the last poster is right though.

I would challenge this, as from a technical perspective an email can be very easily spoofed.

Infact forging a letter would be 10 times more difficult then sending an email made to look like some else sent it.

MagicSean

The Garda won't care if you're challenging the ticket. He just waits for you to be summonsed to court and prosecutes you there instead. If you want to challenge the ticket before that you write to the Superintendent.

AntiVirus

hobochris wrote: »

I would challenge this, as from a technical perspective an email can be very easily spoofed.

Infact forging a letter would be 10 times more difficult then sending an email made to look like some else sent it.

That makes no sense at all? You can forge a letter just as easily as an email. It's been done millions of time's.

seamus

hobochris wrote: »

I would challenge this, as from a technical perspective an email can be very easily spoofed.

Infact forging a letter would be 10 times more difficult then sending an email made to look like some else sent it.

From a technical perspective, forging a letter is far easier for a non-technical person than forging an email. You can easily make an email look like someone else sent it, but the headers of the email will let you down because they will show a trace of the route the email took.

Scanners and colour printers are of such high quality these days, that there would be very little in scanning in a letter, cutting out the header and the signature and pasting them into a new document and printing that out.

Done correctly, it would be next to impossible to detect.

drunkmonkey

k_mac wrote: »

If you want to challenge the ticket before that you write to the Superintendent.

Could you the email the Superintendent? Why wouldn't it be the same thing as writing him a letter? Why does a letter have more of a legal status?

As for op's point about forging an email, let's presume there's no forgery and neither garda or suspect are suggesting anything of the sort.

MagicSean

I dont think Gardaí have individual emails to be contacted on. All contact should go through their superintendent. I dont know if they have emails either. Id say its all to do with having a physical record. You cant sign an email.

drunkmonkey

k_mac wrote: »

Id say its all to do with having a physical record. You cant sign an email.

As I type there's a physical record of this thread being etched into a hard drive somewhere just like someone is putting pen to paper.
It's now a physical thing:). eMail would be just the same?

I'm pretty sure you can sign an email;)

MagicSean

A hard drive which can be wiped clean as soon as the email is sent. Thats not a signature its a drawing done on paint or something.

dermot_sheehan

S. 103 of the road traffic act requires notices under that section to be served personally or by post

AntiVirus

gabhain7 wrote: »

S. 103 of the road traffic act requires notices under that section to be served personally or by post

Well, thats that then!

MrPudding

k_mac wrote: »

A hard drive which can be wiped clean as soon as the email is sent. Thats not a signature its a drawing done on paint or something.

This is a kind of old fashioned view. Leaving aside the fact that it is almost impossible for an ordinary person to complete delete something, even if they could traces are likely to remain somewhere. in a corporate environment, particularly financial, emails are often kept for long periods. For example, I can delete a sent or received mail from my Outlook, but those mails are still kept for 7 years by our archiving solution.

It is also possible to digitally sign an email, or indeed any kind of document to "prove" you have sent the mail or document.

There is a big difference between an organisation not accepting the security of a mode of communication and the actual security of that mode.

MrP