This Research Paper is written by Aditya kamal (1st year BBA LLB in Kle Law College, Bangalore)
Introduction
To get into the topic of e – contracts , lets enumerate what is a contract.A contract in a layman language is an agreement between two or more parties who are willing to enter into a promise which is enforceable by law. The promise is basically one party offering and the other accepting it.
If we just dig into the history of contract , it dates back to the age when the barter system has started. Barter system was an informal contract , but it was purely based on exchange of goods for another goods. But with the invention of money and evolution of the economy , we have changed it into goods in exchange of money which informally is constituting a contract.
In this 21st century and with rapid technical advancement , the establishment and usage of e-contracts has been started in the early 1970’s , which indeed made the work of many people easier and many were benefitted.
To define E-contracts , Section 10 of the IT Act,2008 gives legislative authority to E contracts. It says that, “Where in a contract formation, the communication of proposals, the acceptance of proposals, the revocation of proposals and acceptances, as the case may be, are expressed in electronic form or by means of an electronic record, such contract shall not be deemed to be enforceable solely on the ground that such electronic form or means was used for that purpose.”[1]
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The Statement Of Problem States that whether the excessive use of e contracts would make the work of humans nil and surpass us. The problem I had chosen doesn’t only pertain to the topic of e contracts but also to every technical field in which AI (Artificial Intelligence) is used. There are many theories and experiments which show that humans need to be technically advanced and match the pace with AI , but I would like address how the Human Race is forgetting that the brain they are constituted with can run more faster and can store more information that the electronic gadgets. These are just pieces which are created by a human brain.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Question 01:- Can E Contracts be given the same importance as the traditional contracts and are they reliable?
Question 02:- Will E Contracts become the future?
HYPOTHESIS,
On the basis of the Introduction and Statement Of Problem, I would like to say that my hypothesis goes as follows:
The Future of Contracts is purely dependent on the electronic means and it will be the initiation of the age of E Contracts.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
The research objective for my research would be mainly to focus on the development of e contracts , its implications , advantages and the career it would create for the future generation.
SCOPE OF RESEARCH
The study focuses on e contracts and its related concepts . The accumulation of data for the research will be done through various books , websites , journals and some real life cases ( if any are relevant). The research will not jump and conclude regarding the conclusion but only focuses on the research questions and hypothesis and would strive to provide the information in a detailed manner. The study would be done purely on research basis and there is no other involvements such as consumer review or questionnaire as this is only a theoretical research and doesn’t support any statistical information.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The Research methodology aims to explain the methods the researcher will use to solve the issues under study or prove the hypothesis of the study. The research methodology is a scientific portion which is to be studied. The way the researcher approaches the question will have an effect on the way of the construction of the researcher paper. There are two ways to conduct a research , quantitative and qualitative.
The researcher will be using the qualitative research methodology as it involves collection, analysis, and interpretation of data through observation of what people do and say.
CHARACTERIZATION
The research paper starts with the introduction to the topic with a brief history and evolution, which is followed by statement of problem which highlights the problem of e contracts in a general manner. There are two research questions framed in the context of the topic. The hypothesis is based on the research questions and the researcher’s opinion on the topic. Research objective and scope of research are an integral part as they show case how the paper has been framed , like wise research methodology states on how the data was collected and consolidated into a useful manner. The research paper 3 other sub topics , they are about research questions 1&2 along with the conclusion.
RESEARCH QUESTION 01
Can E Contracts be given the same importance as the traditional contracts and are they reliable ?
If we briefly enumerate the pattern and usage of traditional contracts , it consumes more time, need a lot of labour force which can possibly reduce a proposal or a sale because it will take time for the customer to receive, read, correct and sign the contract. If we briefly look into the timeline of this whole process, if may take around a week complete the contract. This can only happen if the client is more likely interested as you are, but if he/she has other works, then it may probably take several days to complete the contract. But there is one fact which
we can agree that there would be 100% mutual consent and understanding in between the parties and there would be a minimal scope for error.[2]
If we come to the topic of e contracts , they solve the issue by enabling a proposal instantly by completing a contract with digital signature. In many of the cases, you don’t are not even required to upload your digital signature, just click on “I Agree” button , and that’s it your deal is closed. The one thing we all look upon in e contracts is that they have greater efficiency and they will also boost your sales and client base as your contracts are being done more faster than the traditional contract method. Further , in an e contract we have an option to make changes quickly before we present them in front of the clients which we don’t get in the traditional method.[3]
E contracts can be reliable as they are being used since late 1970’s and even in the present world , the orders we place on Amazon , Swiggy or any other online portal we are directly/indirectly entering into a contract with them. Which we are getting benefitted and we can see its reliability on the present day.
RESEARCH QUESTION 02
Will E Contracts be the future ?
As mentioned earlier that an e – contract is an electronically signed contract which is excluding the use of paper documents. These contracts although followed since years have grown popularity and were put to use during COVID – 19. With the extensive use we can expect and probably arrive into an opinion that we are going to mostly rely on the electronic contracts and depend on the traditional ones for only major cases. If we take a look into why is it worth shifting from traditional contracts to e-contract. E – Contracts will strengthen your business by providing a fast , accurate and a convenient agreement procedure which is handy for the parties to start the negotiation process and make it successful. It also increases the efficiency of the firm or an individual who is stepping into the contract because it e – contracts minimize the level of failure, which automatically boosts your productivity. E – contracts are easy to prepare so , the parties can barely miss the deadlines discussed because a small miss disturbs the whole contract’s life cycle.[4]So, by this we can say that E- Contracts can be constituting the future of E contracts.
CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS
To conclude with my research paper , I would like to say that the hypothesis mentioned hence stands proved in accordance with the research done. I also understood while doing the research that E- Contracts although are now widely being used , there is a minimal use of traditional contract. From the two issues presented previously , I also want to jump into an opinion that we should be careful while using electronic media as a medium of exchange of contract because of the increasing frauds in the cyber world which is unsafe for us.
[1]Nikhil Nair, “E- Contracts” (Indian National Bar Association.org) <https://www.indianbarassociation.org/e-contracts/> accessed April 22, 2022.
[2]Alex Zhezherov, “The Benefits of Electronic Contracts – E-Contracts vs. Traditional Contracts” (BlogAugust 20, 2021) <https://www.pandadoc.com/blog/difference-between-electronic-contracts-and-traditional-contracts/> accessed April 22, 2022.
[3]Ibid
[4]Mack O, “Digital Contracts – A Future That Has Become a Reality: Parley Pro” (Parley Pro | Contract Management Software Built for TodaySeptember 30, 2021) <https://parleypro.com/blog/digital-contracts-a-future-that-has-become-a-reality/> accessed April 22, 2022
