Regulation on Procedures and Principles Regarding Electronic Seal Has Been Published

What is Electronic Seal?

Electronic seal is defined as electronic data that is attached to another electronic data or has a logical connection to electronic data and is used for the purpose of verifying the information of the electronic seal holder.

What are the Fundamental Regulations Made in the Regulation on Procedures and Principles Regarding Electronic Seal?

The Regulation on Procedures and Principles Regarding Electronic Sea ("Regulation") (In Turkish) has been published in the Official Gazette dated September 14, 2022, and numbered 31953. The regulations made in the Regulation are as follows;

• The Regulation is designed to cover the procedures and principles regarding the receipt of electronic seal certificate applications, the processes for the creation, use, cancellation and renewal of the electronic seal certificate, the electronic seal creation and verification data and tools, and the obligations of the electronic seal holder.
• It is stated in the Regulation, that the electronic seal, electronic document or data are created by the electronic seal holder; that there is an evidentiary record that guarantees the source and integrity of the document or data, and at the same time, the secure electronic seal has the same legal character as any physical seal, including the official seal.
• The Regulation also includes the definition of advanced electronic seal.
• It is stated in the Regulation, that the secure electronic seals are used to verify the identity of the electronic seal holder and to ensure the integrity of the data sealed, that advanced electronic seals can be used for the authentication of any digital asset of the electronic seal holder, and that the qualified electronic seal certificate can not be used to create a secure electronic signature.
• It is included in the Regulation which mandatory elements must be present in the qualified electronic seal certificate.
• It is stated in detail in the Regulation that an application should be made to the Electronic Certificate Service Provider (In Turkish) in order to obtain a qualified electronic seal certificate and what information and documents should be included in this application and which steps should be followed after the application.

The Regulation has entered into force as of September 14, 2022, which is the publication date.

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