Until mid-2016, the use of electronic signatures in the European Union was governed by Directive 1999/93 on a Community framework for electronic signatures (E-Signature Directive) as transposed into the national laws of 28 Member States of the European Union.
The Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (eIDAS Regulation) was adopted in July 2014 and has been effective as of July 1, 2016. This eIDAS Regulation aims to provide more predictable regulatory environment and is directly applicable in all Member States of the European Union without having to be transposed in national legislation.
The eIDAS Regulation has a 2-tier approach. This means that all electronic signatures (ie, "data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign") receive some legal recognition, but only so-called "qualified" electronic signatures are automatically assimilated with handwritten signatures. Thus, in case of a dispute, it is up to the competent court to decide whether a "non-qualified" electronic signatures may be assimilated with a handwritten signature. The eIDAS Regulation does not preclude Member States from deciding that, in certain circumstances, only specific types of electronic signatures, such as qualified electronic signatures, may be used.
In Luxembourg, the E-Signature Directive was implemented by the Luxembourg eCommerce Law of 14 August 2000, as amended, which was last modified by the Law of 17 July 2020. The eCommerce Law of 14 August 2000 now complies with the eIDAS Regulation, these last modifications having removed provisions of the eCommerce Law that had become obsolete.