電子公證制度於我國法制之探索

Abstract

語言與文字為維繫人類社會存續之重要支柱，人類藉由語言溝通彼此之情感與交流意見並傳送訊息，凝聚群體共識形成了原始社會。然而語言在功能上有其極限，首先在以語言傳遞時，在覆誦過程中常因傳遞者之理解與發音等個人因素造成表達錯誤，其次語言需藉由人類作為記憶與傳遞之主體，惟因生理因素使然，人類之記憶力終將因年歲之增長而衰退，為減輕與避免上開情事之發生，人們遂發明了文字以記載事情之經過與釐清彼此間權利義務之關係，以確認事實進而減少紛爭之發生，並作為日後紛爭解決時裁決之依據。此種以紙筆作成文書確認事實作成證據之方式，即為公證制度最早之起源。

自網際網路衍生之電子商務風潮下，大量電子文書需求遂應電子商務交易而生，各國亦紛紛研擬相關法律以資因應。針對電子文書之特性與網際網路之安全，實務上研發出電子認證以資解決。電子認證由憑證機構核發電子簽章以確保電子文書之安全性，設計上憑證機構係肩負現實社會中戶政事務所與公證人雙重角色以提供服務，電子公證一詞遂因勢提出。在法律上將電子公證於傳統公證業務中分離出來交於專責之憑證機構負責，亦是一種可探討之方式。然而睽諸美、日兩國現行之電子公證制度，仍是由傳統之公證人負責執行，而非另行創設新種之電子公證人執行相關業務，可見電子公證仍屬傳統公證業務之一環。

電子公證既列傳統公證業務之下，自須先就公證制度加以介紹，以瞭解公證之相關理念。其次，就電子公證客體之電子文書意涵與傳統文書歧異之處亦須加予分析。再者，電子公證在技術層面既建立於電子認證架構之下，自應說明電子認證之核心概念。於此參酌美、日等國相關立法，或可描繪出電子公證制度之概貌。然我國之電子公證內涵究採認證書電子化！或採公證行為電子化！前者僅為公證文書之電子化對公證制度衝擊較小，反之，若採後者則公證人如何在電子公證中發揮傳統公證制度下其自身法律專才並履行親所聞問之職責，便成為對現行公證制度亟需研究之問題。

Both spoken and written languages are the major pillars that sustain our society. Language formed our primal society by consolidating consensus via communicating, exchanging, and conveying of feelings, views, and messages. Nevertheless, spoken language has its limitations: first, the misrepresentations caused by the conveyer’s individual understanding and pronunciation; and second, the declining retentive faculty of man, the subject of memory and transmission, resulted from aging or other physical causes. To minimize or avoid such incidents, human invented written language to record events and to clarify mutual rights and obligations, which will then be used as evidential basis for the court decision/ruling in case future dispute arises. Such black and white hard copy documentation of facts is the origin of notarization system.

In response to the multitude of electronic documents required for modern transaction of e-commerce, governments worldwide have promulgated or enacted relevant laws and regulations. Among all such solutions, electronic authentication has been developed by targeting particularly at the unique features of electronic document and Internet security. Electronic authentication with digital signature issued by certification authority to insure the security of various electronic documents is designed to fulfill the dual role of household office and public notary as the electronic version of notarization agent. Legally transferring the electronic notarization from conventional one to the hand of specialized certification authority is a new issue worth our exploration. The current practice of the U.S. and Japan, which puts the electronic notarization system under the charge of conventional notary, indicates that electronic notarization is still an existing link constituting the conventional notarization business.

Since electronic notarization is included in the conventional notarization business, it seems appropriate that we should first give an introduction to the related philosophies of conventional notarization business. Moreover, an analysis on the discrepancy existing between the implications of electronic document, the object of electronic notarization, and the conventional documents is also needed. Lastly, since electronic notarization is constructed under the framework of electronic authentication in terms of technical aspect, a description of the core concepts of the electronic authentication should also be included. By referring to the relevant legislations of the U.S., Japan and other counties, we may gain an overview of the electronic notarization system. The question of whether Taiwan’s e-notarization system should adopt e-certificate or e-notarization is then raised. By adopting the former, that is, e-documentation, it will have a relatively smaller impact on the notarization system. Conversely, if the latter is adopted, then how the notary performs his/her legal specialty and duties endowed by the conventional electronic notarization system has become an imperative issue that requires further exploration.