The legal force of an electronic document is ensured through the use of electronic digital signature EDS - a mechanism that allows you to prove that the author of the sent electronic document is in fact exactly who he claims to be, and that the document was not changed during the delivery process. EDS is used as an analogue of a handwritten signature or a regular seal in the case of a legal entity. The digital signature is added to the data block and allows the recipient of the block to verify the source and data integrity and thus protect against counterfeiting.
Most enterprises recognize the advantages of electronic (paperless) workflow, which has the following advantages:
- ease of making changes to the document;
- the ability to place in the document not only text, but also multimedia data;
- the ability to use pre-prepared forms;
- higher speed of information transfer over a large number of addresses;
- saving paper;
- higher compactness of archives;
- easier control of information flows;
- high speed of search and extraction of information;
- the ability to protect documents from unauthorized access and differentiation of employees' access rights to information.
Introduction allows you to reduce the number of services involved in working with documents (couriers, clerical workers, etc.).
Figure 4 shows how much the time of individual stages of working with documents is reduced when replacing a paper process with a digital one.
In conditions electronic document management much less costs are required for the restructuring of workflow when changing external conditions, for example, requirements to change the form of reporting.
electronic document management is universally recognized, a full transition to paperless technologies requires addressing a number of legal issues as well as investment. So today in Russia you can find all types of workflow presented in Figure 4.
In conditions electronic document management much less costs are required for restructuring the workflow when external conditions change, for example, requirements for changing the reporting form.
Although the efficiency electronic document management It is universally recognized that full transition to paperless technologies requires the resolution of a number of legal issues, as well as investments. So today in Russia you can find all types of workflow, listed in Figure 4.
There are still enterprises and institutions that still work in the conditions of paperwork, the majority use computers and local networks and only a small percentage use fully automated systems management electronic documents. What is the reason for this situation?
Figure 6 - Advantages of electronic document management
Ideally, a consequence of the development electronic document management should become completely paperless technologies. Today, however, paper documents are still required to comply with many regulations - tax laws, accounting laws, etc. One of the main purposes of a document is the ability to certify certain facts. Until recently, a paper document with the necessary details and degrees of protection was the main way to prove a particular fact, i.e. represented legal force. Paper as a material carrier has a drawback in the sense that it does not allow erasing and recording new information without a trace, but this disadvantage turns into a virtue in terms of eliminating document forgery. No wonder the Russian proverb says: what is written with a pen cannot be cut down with an ax.
In other words, when we receive a document that has a signature on every page, and there are no traces of violation of the surface of the paper (i.e., it is clear that the text was not erased or rewritten), we can be sure that this document was sent on behalf of who signed and that it has not changed during the delivery process.
Basically modern facilities encryption allows you to provide the same means of authenticating a document as a signature on paper.
The Federal Law "On Electronic Digital Signature" adopted in January 2002 gives organizations the opportunity to create systems for exchanging exclusively electronic documents, in which an electronic document can act as an original that does not need to be duplicated by a hard copy. However, today the law EDS absolute only for internal workflow, where it is actively used, since internal workflow is regulated by the CEO.
Thus, the main reason for the presence of a mixed workflow is the fact that the issue of applying EDS has not yet been resolved at the state level.
However, the exchange of documents in electronic format can be used not in all, but only in some areas of the organization's activities.
The use of electronic documents creates a number of certain difficulties. One of the main problems of using such documents is to ensure the legal force of an electronic document. To solve this problem, a special requisite of an electronic document is provided - an electronic digital signature.
An electronic digital signature is an attribute of an electronic document designed to protect this electronic document from forgery, obtained as a result of cryptographic transformation of information using private key electronic digital signature and allowing to identify the owner of the signature key certificate, as well as to establish the absence of distortion of information in the electronic document. An electronic digital signature ensures the legal equivalence of a handwritten signature. However, the use of an electronic digital signature does not guarantee absolute protection of an electronic document from the distortion of significant legal information (in fairness, it should be noted that absolute protection cannot be guaranteed at all). To this end, the legislation provides for a number of other organizational, legal and technical measures to ensure the authenticity of electronic documents.
In modern Russian law, an electronic digital signature is already used in several areas:
- 1. Financial and credit relations
- 2. Tax relations
- 3. Civil transactions
There are several restrictions on the implementation of electronic document management in certain areas. A number of regulatory legal acts provide for a ban on the use of electronic documents in certain legal relations or stipulate the preference for written documents on paper. Thus, the legislation on notaries does not provide for the possibility of compiling documents in electronic form, here the concept of “document” means only written information.
For example, in Art. 45 of the Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Notaries states that the sheets of a document submitted for notarial acts must be stitched, numbered and sealed, which is physically impossible for documents in electronic form. Such an example is important, since for some documents, including those necessary for doing business via the Internet, they are notarized. There are also such regulatory legal acts where there is no prohibition as such, but documents on paper are called preferable. . For example, when registering rights to real estate(a procedure that could possibly be performed via the Internet) in case of discrepancies in the records on paper and magnetic media, the record on paper has priority (clause 8, article 12 of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On state registration rights to real estate and transactions with it” dated July 21, 1997 No. 127). A similar provision is recorded in the Law of August 8, 2002 No. 129-FZ “On Registration of Legal Entities” (clause 1, article 4).
Currently, the fundamentals of notarial legislation are focused on traditional paper documents signed with a handwritten signature and do not cover the specifics of electronic data interchange.
To solve problems in this area, it is possible to use more extensive use of document management automation tools, including the use of simplified digital signature technologies.
It is possible, in some cases, to use a simplified procedure for certifying transactions, since it is in the interests of the parties concluding a transaction to receive an electronic document of a universal format (which does not require a special expensive software to read the contents of the document), equal in legal force to the paper medium.
However, it should be noted that simplification should be understood as the technical embodiment of the certification procedure, and not in any way the rejection of legally significant actions that the parties are required to perform in in full(See: Federal Law "Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries", chapter IX). You can digitally sign PDF files using Adobe Acrobat Professional software. The procedure for concluding a transaction can be as follows: the parties to the transaction, having agreed on all the essential conditions of the legal relationship, transfer to a special service for certifying electronic documents (the organizational affiliation of such services is indicated above) an electronic document that is converted into PDF format in their presence, the newly created file is entered information about the persons making the transaction, and the electronic signature of a specialist is put on the document. The document is stored on several physical media (it is important that they are not rewritable!): two media in the identity service (one is stored as the main one, the other is used in cases where the authenticity of the document is necessary, for example, to demonstrate the document during a trial), the rest - by the number of stakeholders. The duty of the service to keep media with electronic documents at home or conclude an appropriate agreement with a specially authorized organization (create an appropriate infrastructure for organizations and legally regulate the licensing procedure and the activities of the above organizations). Shelf life of media is 5 years. In the future, the issue of the fate of the carriers will be decided without taking into account the opinions of the parties concluding the deal.
When introducing an electronic signature in this area, it is necessary to temporarily limit the volume of transactions that can be certified in the specified order, since at the initial stage it is impossible to take into account all the nuances of a legal and technical nature. Moreover, it is necessary to retain the choice for the person concluding the transaction, in what - traditional paper or electronic form - to certify the agreement reached.
Thus, we can conclude that electronic documents have become increasingly widely used, the use of which provides a lot of advantages for users:
- 1. Acceleration of workflow processes;
- 2. The ability to transmit a document through digital communication channels;
- 3. Easily changeable content (editing);
- 4. Theoretical possibility of eternal storage;
- 5. Unlimited copies that have legal force, etc.
We also found out that the main difficulty of an electronic document is to ensure the legal force of an electronic document. To solve this problem, a special requisite of an electronic document is provided - an electronic digital signature.
A paper document is legally valid if it has the required details, a handwritten signature of an individual and, in some cases, a seal. And what gives legal force to an electronic document?
What is electronic document management?
Electronic document management (or EDI) is the exchange of documents in electronic form via the Internet, the internal network of the company or in other ways. EDI significantly speeds up the exchange of documents and settlements for transactions between counterparties, and allows you to save on stationery and postage.
In 2011, the Ministry of Finance of Russia legalized the exchange of invoices in electronic form using (ES; earlier - EDS). This was the impetus for the spread of legally significant electronic document management. Electronic document management in Russia is regulated by:
- Federal Law No. 402-FZ "On Accounting" dated December 6, 2011,
- Federal Law No. 63-FZ "On Electronic Signature" dated April 6, 2011,
- Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia N 174n "On approval of the Procedure for issuing and receiving invoices in electronic form via telecommunication channels using an enhanced qualified electronic signature" dated November 10, 2015.
What makes an electronic document legally binding?
A document created on a computer or a scan of a paper document is not yet legally binding. For different types documents have different guarantors of legal force.
formalized documents
These documents include invoices, statements, labor contract with a remote employee, an inventory of the requested documents. They are given legal force by:
- compliance with the format approved by the state,
- transfer of documents in accordance with the regulations,
- qualified electronic signature (hereinafter referred to as QES).
Electronic documents signed by CEP are, by default, equal to those signed with one's own hand and have legal force.
informal documents
This category includes all other documents: contracts, powers of attorney, letters, etc. The state does not regulate the format of these documents. There are two ways to give them legal force:
- Sign . As in the case of formalized documents, CEP by default gives legal force to the document.
- Sign simple or .
Additionally, EDF participants must conclude an agreement on the mutual recognition of the legal force of these types of electronic signatures (Article 4 No. 63-FZ “On Electronic Signatures”). In this agreement, it is necessary to prescribe the requirements for details, the form and format of documents, and the type of signature. If there is such an agreement, electronic documents will be considered legally significant and any authority, including courts and the Federal Tax Service, will accept them as hand-signed.
How to sign a document with an electronic signature?
The ability to create a signature for an electronic document is implemented in many programs:
- In specialized systems for electronic document management and reporting (for example, Kontur.Diadok, Kontur.Extern).
- In various information systems (for example, on the State Services portal, on electronic trading platforms).
- In accounting systems (for example, SAP, Oracle, MS Dynamics and others).
- AT computer programs to work with electronic documents (for example, Microsoft Word, PDF).
- In special programs for creating and
Oleg Bezzubtsev
Today it is difficult to find a specialist in the field of informatization or telecommunications who would not know what an electronic digital signature (EDS) is. However, few people realize that the use of this technology in itself only creates the prerequisites for the organization of legally significant electronic document management. Just like the technology of producing paper or fountain pens, it is only an opportunity to organize traditional paper workflow. What needs to be done to make the exchange of electronic documents with EDS as common as paper documents?
EDS Law
The Federal Law “On Electronic Digital Signature”, adopted in 2001, provides for the conditions for the legal use of an electronic digital signature when organizing the exchange of electronic documents. And although this law introduces (by the way, for the first time in domestic legal practice) the actual concept of an “electronic document”, it does not cover all the legal aspects of the use of such documents with its regulatory impact. The Law has a narrower task - "ensuring the legal conditions for the use of EDS in electronic documents, under which the EDS in an electronic document is recognized as equivalent to a handwritten signature in a paper document." Actually, the allocation of this narrow sphere of regulation made it possible to prepare the specified legislative act.
The problem of regulation by one normative document of the whole variety of relations arising from the introduction of electronic document management seems to be practically insoluble. An electronic document is only a special case of a document in general, and there is no law on a document either in Russia or in any other civilized legal system. And one of the main reasons for this is the variety of documents.
The traditional paper workflow is based to a large extent on regulatory acts of the instructive level, of which a great many have already accumulated. At the same time, in Russian legal practice there is practically not a single by-law or instructive regulatory act that would specify the rules for organizing electronic document management in general or in a particular information and telecommunication system.
The Federal Law “On Electronic Digital Signature” recognizes an EDS developed on the basis of an asymmetric cryptographic transformation and reflects the specifics of using only this type of electronic digital signature in electronic document management1. The main issue of using an asymmetric cryptographic system is the issue of trust in the partner's public key, which, in the process of bringing it to the recipients, can be modified or deliberately substituted. From a legal point of view, ownership public key An EDS published or obtained from a publicly available information system is required to be proven by the specific individual from whom it allegedly comes. This requires the presence of a third independent subject of electronic document management, which, at its own risk, will confirm that the public verification key belongs to a specific subject applying for it. Such an authorized person (third party), who assumes the responsibility to certify the information system the ownership of a public key (and therefore, a pair of “public-private” individual keys) to a specific user of the system in accordance with the law is called a Certification Authority (CA).
Therefore, the issue of regulatory support of the legal significance of electronic document management in a particular information and telecommunication system conditionally implies two tasks that are little related to each other:
- creation of the necessary legal conditions for the electronic documents prepared by users of this system to have legal force;
- creation of instructive documents regulating life cycle prepared, circulating and stored in the system of electronic documents that have legal force.
The essence of the second task follows from the concept of "document flow". Usually, “turnover” means the entire cycle of the existence of a legally significant document in the system: its creation, transmission, acceptance, storage, archiving and destruction, as well as its accounting at all stages. In the traditional paper workflow, all of the above issues, with the exception of issues of giving legal significance to documents, as a rule, are resolved at the level of departmental or corporate instructions. The first task is of a generally significant nature and, in the general case, should be solved on the basis of normative acts of the legislative level.
Paper and electronic documents
A traditional document on paper has two components - a material paper medium and the information recorded on it. paper base connects the semantic part of the document (information itself) with additional fragments of text, called "requisites" and serving to identify both the document and the individual who created or signed this document. This is how the concept of “document” is defined in the law: “Documented information (document) is information recorded on a material carrier with details that allow it to be identified”2.
Documentation of information is carried out according to strictly defined rules. The main ones are set out in GOST 6.38-90 “System of organizational and administrative documentation. Requirements for paperwork” and GOST 6.10.4-84 “Unified documentation systems. Giving legal force to documents on a machine carrier and a machinogram created by means of computer technology. These GOSTs provide for a total of 31 requisites, but not all of them are recognized as mandatory. The main thing is the actual text of the document. Therefore, any information presented on paper in the form of a coherent text, without any additional details, can already be considered a document. But to give the document legal force, one text is not enough. Important details such as the date and signature are also required.
A traditional paper document will only be legally binding if:
- the text of the document;
- the date of its creation or signing;
- Signatures of a specific individual.
A person forms his attitude to the received traditional document on paper on the basis of two components:
- document authentication, that is, making a decision on trust in the document based on the integrity of the medium and undoubted details, including the date of execution and the signature of the performer.
- the correctness of the content, that is, a comparison of the meaning of the document and the conditions and / or circumstances of its creation.
The authenticity of the document and the correctness of its perception form the basis for its unambiguous interpretation by the transmitting and receiving parties, and, no less important, by an independent third party authorized to resolve conflicts that may be caused by these documents.
Unfortunately, in Russia there are no normative acts of the legislative level that define the concept of "electronic document". Moreover, in modern legal practice there are several completely different approaches to its definition. The clearest is the definition formulated in 2000–2001 when forming a block of so-called electronic bills: “Electronic document (document in electronic form of display) - information presented in the form of a set of states of elements of electronic computing, other electronic means of processing, storage and transmission information that can be transformed into a form suitable for unambiguous perception by a person and having attributes (requisites) of identification (and possibly authentication) of the document.
If we draw parallels between the technologies of perception of a traditional document on paper and an electronic document, then in the first place is still the problem of its authentication or verification of the authenticity and correctness of its content.
The main threats of electronic document exchange in the interaction of the sender and recipient of an electronic document include:
- violation of the integrity of the electronic document;
- violation of the non-repudiation of an electronic document;
- violation of the adequacy of the display of the electronic document.
The implementation of these threats can lead to a number of conflicts between participants in electronic document management:
- refusal to accept (receive) or transfer (send) an electronic document;
- protesting the content and / or time of receipt or transmission of an electronic document;
- refusal of authorship of the electronic document.
Therefore, for the organization of electronic document management, it is necessary to apply additional measures ensuring the authenticity, access control, integrity and identification of information. As such means, cryptographic methods of information protection are used, namely, EDS technology.
hash function
The implementation of an electronic digital signature based on the use of cryptographic technology is associated with the calculation of the so-called hash function of the protected electronic document, which is a unique number obtained from the original document by converting it using a complex but well-known algorithm (hash function).
The hash function is sensitive to all kinds of distortions of the original electronic document, that is, a change (distortion) of at least one character in the original document leads, on average, to a distortion of half the characters of the hash value. In addition, it is designed in such a way that, firstly, it is impossible to restore the original electronic document from the hash value of the document, and secondly, it is practically impossible to find two different electronic documents that would have the same hash value.
The scheme for generating an electronic digital signature under an electronic document by its creator (sender) provides for the calculation of the hash function of this document and encryption of this value using the sender's secret key.
The result of encryption is the EDS value as an attribute of an electronic document, which is sent to the recipient along with this document.
Thus, the electronic digital signature rigidly links the content of the document and the secret key for the formation of an EDS and makes it impossible to change the document without violating the authenticity of this signature.
EDS functions
Since an electronic digital signature is an information security tool that provides the ability to control the integrity and authenticate an electronic document, the digital signature must provide the following basic functions:
- confirm that the signatory has knowingly signed the electronic document;
- confirm that the document was signed by the signer and only by him;
- EDS should depend significantly on the signed document, including the timestamps contained in it;
- the signer should not be able to subsequently refuse to sign the electronic document.
The Federal Law "On Electronic Digital Signature" defines an EDS as "a requisite of an electronic document designed to protect this electronic document from forgery, obtained as a result of cryptographic transformation of information using the private key of an electronic digital signature and allowing to identify the owner of the signature key certificate, as well as to establish the absence misrepresentation of information in an electronic document.
Bonding an electronic document with a digital signature and checking its correctness require a number of conscious actions from users of a secure electronic document management system:
- on the use of its own private key and the launch of the user software function that is responsible for creating a digital signature;
- or deliberately extracting the sender's key from the certificate store, comparing it with the list of revoked certificates and deliberately launching the user software function responsible for confirming the authenticity of the EDS under the electronic document.
Such actions of an individual can serve as the basis for the emergence of legal relations, for example, when giving orders or making a transaction, which in principle allows (taking into account the high guarantee that the digital signature belongs to the signatory) to organize a legally significant electronic document flow in any sphere of society and material activity. production.
Electronic documents, digital signature and law
The basis for the use of electronic documents certified by an electronic digital signature is the following legislative and regulatory acts Russian Federation.
Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Part 1. Chapter 9. Article 160. Written form of transaction4
The use of facsimile reproduction of a signature by means of mechanical or other copying, electronic digital signature or other analogue of a handwritten signature in transactions is allowed in cases and in the manner prescribed by law, other legal acts or by agreement of the parties.
Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Part 1. Chapter 28. Article 434. Form of the contract5
An agreement in writing can be concluded by drawing up one document signed by the parties, as well as by exchanging documents by postal, telegraph, teletype, telephone, electronic or other communication, which makes it possible to reliably establish that the document comes from the party under the agreement.
Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Part 2. Chapter 45. Article 847. Certification of the right to dispose of funds on the account6
The agreement may provide for the certification of the rights to dispose of the amounts of money on the account, electronic means of payment and other documents using analogues of a handwritten signature (clause 2 of article 160), codes, passwords and other means confirming that the order was given by an authorized it's a face.
Federal Law "On Information, Informatization and Information Protection". Article 5. Documentation of information
A document received from an automated information system acquires legal force after it is signed by an official in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
The legal force of a document stored, processed and transmitted using automated information and telecommunication systems may be confirmed by an electronic digital signature.
The legal force of an electronic digital signature is recognized if there are software and hardware tools in the automated information system that ensure the identification of the signature, and if the established mode of their use is observed.
Official materials of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation
Letter dated April 24, 1992 No. K-3/96, according to which “the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation considers it possible to accept documents certified by the electronic signature(print).
Letter No. S1-7/OP-587 of August 19, 1994 states: “In the event that the parties have prepared and signed an agreement using electronic computing equipment that uses a digital (electronic) signature system, they may submit to the arbitration court evidence on a dispute arising from this agreement, also certified by a digital (electronic) signature.
Federal Law "On Electronic Digital Signature"
The main purpose of this Federal Law is to ensure the legal conditions for the use of an electronic digital signature in electronic documents, under which an electronic digital signature in an electronic document is recognized as equivalent to a handwritten signature in a document on paper.
At the same time, the law provides a legal basis for the use of electronic technologies, defines the rights and obligations of the author of the signature, the technology for verifying the signature, the conditions for the use of EDS in electronic documents by authorities state power and government organizations as well as legal and individuals.
The law establishes:
– basic rights and obligations of the holder of an electronic digital signature;
– legal status certification centers, their functions;
– requirements for the signature key certificate issued by the CA;
– the composition of the information contained in the signature key certificate, the period and procedure for its storage;
- the procedure for maintaining registers of certificates.
The law defines the relationship of certifying centers with the authorized federal executive body that maintains a unified state register of CA signature key certificates, also provides for the procedure for protecting the rights of persons using EDS in the process of electronic document exchange, and the conditions for suspension and (or) cancellation of the signature key certificate.
A set of documents for the Certification Authority
In accordance with paragraphs. 36, 37 of the Regulations and clause 4 of the Instructions approved by Orders of FAPSI dated September 23, 1999 No. 1587 and dated June 13, 2001 No. 1528, the use of cryptographic protection of confidential information (CIPF) certified by FAPSI is carried out by persons (legal entities and individuals) who have the appropriate state license . For persons who do not have such a license, services for cryptographic protection of their information using CIPF are provided by licensees on the basis of an agreement.
Therefore, the Certification Authority providing services for the cryptographic protection of confidential information to other subjects of the automated system of legally significant electronic document management must be connected with the organizations participating in this system by contractual relations. At the same time, the conditions for the provision of such services by the CA to all participants in the electronic document management system should be standard (the same).
The set of regulatory and administrative documents necessary for the functioning of the CA includes:
1. Accession agreement in accordance with Art. 428 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (form), providing for the procedure and conditions for the provision and use of the services of the center.
2. Order of permission conflict situations related to the use of EDS and encryption technologies in electronic document management, which is an integral part of the Service Agreement.
In accordance with the letter of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation of August 19, 1994 No. S1-7 / OP-587, when considering disputes related to contracts or other documents signed with a digital (electronic) signature, the arbitration court must operate with the contract materials, which describe the procedure for reconciliation of disagreements. If such an agreement lacks a procedure for reconciling disagreements and a procedure for proving the authenticity of the agreement and other documents, the arbitration court shall have the right not to accept documents signed with a digital (electronic) signature as evidence.
3. Interrelated regulatory administrative documents of the automated system (AS), the Certification Center and the participants of the electronic document management system, which are created taking into account the operational documentation for the means of cryptographic information protection.
According to paragraph 2 of the “Requirements for the applicant for the right to install (install), operate certified encryption tools and provide information encryption services when protecting information at level “C”, at an enterprise operating certified cryptographic information protection tools, there must be specially developed and documents regulating "issues of ensuring the functioning and security of the CIPF" were approved by the management.
These documents must include:
- rights and obligations of the Certification Authority, other organizations participating in the AS, as well as their officials directly related to electronic document management;
- the procedure for placement, installation, storage and use of CIPF by users of the AU, other means of protecting information used in the AU, as well as operational documentation for them;
- the procedure for generating, recording, distributing, storing and destroying cryptographic keys of users of the electronic document management system;
- the procedure for connecting users to the AS and terminating their service with the electronic document management system;
- the procedure for maintaining confidential document management; the procedure for investigating the facts of violation of the confidentiality regime of information processed in the AS, the facts of violation of the rules for the use of CIPF and measures to eliminate the consequences of these violations;
- the procedure for organizing and exercising control by the licensee in the field of cryptographic protection of information, the fulfillment by the other participants of the electronic document management system of the requirements for ensuring the protection of information using CIPF.
The legal force of an electronic document is provided on the basis of the use of an electronic digital signature of the EDS 1) - a mechanism that allows you to prove that the author of the sent electronic document is in fact exactly who he claims to be, and that the document was not changed during the delivery process. EDS is used as an analogue of a handwritten signature or a regular seal in the case of a legal entity. The digital signature is added to the data block and allows the recipient of the block to check the source and integrity of the data and thus protect against forgery.
Most enterprises recognize the advantages of electronic (paperless) workflow, which has the following advantages:
ease of making changes to the document;
the ability to place not only text, but also multimedia data in the document 2) ;
the ability to use pre-prepared forms;
Higher speed of information transfer over a large number of addresses;
saving paper;
higher compactness of archives;
Easier control of information flows;
high speed of search and extraction of information;
· possibility of protection of documents from unauthorized access and differentiation of access rights of employees to information.
The introduction of electronic document management makes it possible to reduce the number of services involved in working with documents (couriers, office workers, etc.).
Figure 3.22 shows how much the time of individual stages of working with documents is reduced when replacing a paper process with a digital one.
Rice. 3.22. Advantages of electronic document management
In the conditions of electronic document management, much less costs are required for restructuring the workflow when external conditions change, for example, requirements for changing the reporting form.
Although the effectiveness of electronic document management is widely recognized, the full transition to paperless technologies requires the resolution of a number of legal issues, as well as investments. So today in Russia you can find all types of workflow, listed in Fig. 3.20.
There are still enterprises and institutions that still work in a paper-based environment, the majority use computers and local networks in organizing document management, and only a small percentage use fully automated electronic document management systems. What is the reason for this situation?
Ideally, the development of electronic document management should lead to completely paperless technologies. Today, however, paper documents are still required to comply with many regulations - tax laws, accounting laws, etc. One of the main purposes of a document is the ability to certify certain facts. Until recently, a paper document with the necessary details and degrees of protection was the main way to prove a particular fact, i.e. represented legal force. Paper as a material carrier has a drawback in the sense that it does not allow erasing and recording new information without a trace, but this disadvantage turns into a virtue in terms of eliminating document forgery. No wonder the Russian proverb says: what is written with a pen cannot be cut down with an ax.
In other words, when we receive a document that has a signature on every page and no traces of paper surface damage (i.e., it is clear that the text has not been erased or rewritten), we can be sure that this document was sent on behalf of the sender signature and that it has not changed during the delivery process.
In principle, modern means of encryption make it possible to provide the same means of authenticating a document as a signature on paper.
The Federal Law "On Electronic Digital Signature" adopted in January 2002 gives organizations the opportunity to create systems for exchanging exclusively electronic documents, in which an electronic document can act as an original that does not need to be duplicated by a hard copy. However, today the legality of the EDS is absolute only for internal document management, where it is actively used, since internal document management is regulated by the CEO.
Thus, the main reason for the presence of a mixed document flow is the fact that the issue of using EDS has not yet been resolved at the state level.
However, the exchange of documents in electronic form may not be used in all, but only in some areas of the organization's activities.