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Abstracts prior to volume 5(1) have been archived!

Issue 5(1), October 2010 -- Paper Abstracts

Girard  (p. 9-22)

Cooper (p. 23-32)

Kunz-Osborne (p. 33-41)

Coulmas-Law (p.42-46)

Stasio (p. 47-56)

Albert-Valette-Florence (p.57-63)

Zhang-Rauch (p. 64-70)

Alam-Yasin (p. 71-78)

Mattare-Monahan-Shah (p. 79-94)

Nonis-Hudson-Hunt (p. 95-106)

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT POLICY AND PRACTICE

The Proposed Computer Laws of Uganda: Moving Toward Secure

E-Commerce Transactions and Cyber-Crime Control

Author(s): Stephen E. Blythe

Citation: Stephen E. Blythe, (2010) "The Proposed Computer Laws of Uganda: Moving Toward Secure

E-Commerce Transactions and Cyber-Crime Control," Journal of Management Policy and Practice, Vol. 11, Iss. 5, pp. 19 - 33

Article Type: Research paper

Publisher: North American Business Press

Abstract:

Uganda drafted three proposed computer laws in 2004 which remain under consideration: The

Electronic Signature Bill (“ESB”) would provide for legal recognition of electronic signatures (“Esignatures”).

Although all types of E-signatures are recognized, the digital signature enjoys most-favored

status because it utilizes cryptographic methods. All Certification Authorities (“CA”) are required to

hold a license issued by the Controller of CA’s and their computer system must be trustworthy. The

Electronic Transactions Bill (“ETB”) would provide a legal foundation for E-commerce transactions.

The electronic form may be used to satisfy a statutory requirement for: a writing; a handwritten

signature; an original document; retention of a paper document; and a notarized paper document. The

Computer Misuse Bill (“CMB”) would prohibit several types of computer crimes: unauthorized access;

modification of contents; unauthorized use or interception of computer service; unauthorized obstruction

of use of computer; unauthorized disclosure of access code; breach of confidentiality obligation;

enhanced punishment pertinent to national security, using a computer to disseminate child pornography;

and attempts and abetments. The objectives of this article are to: (1) explain the roles of electronic

signatures, cryptology, public key infrastructure, and certification authorities; (2) cover the three

generations of electronic signature law; (3) analyze Uganda’s proposed computer laws: Electronic

Signature Bill (“ESB”), Electronic Transactions Bill (“ETB”), and Computer Misuse Bill (“CMB”); and

(4) make recommendations for improvement of those bills.