Chetty, Prialoshni2014-02-272014-02-272014-02-27http://hdl.handle.net/10539/13973Thesis (M.M. (ICT Policy and Regulation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2013.This is a study of the effectiveness of e-signature regulation in South Africa. The primary objective is to analyse South Africa’s e-signature regulatory frameworks and approaches in order to produce findings on its current status and its effectiveness. To do this, the research included the development of a conceptual framework that identifies key themes of analysis for effective electronic signature regulation and a research approach that produces findings from qualitative analysis of multiple sources of data. The report specifically considers the effectiveness of the regulation in rendering electronic signatures a legally valid, secure and trustworthy method of concluding electronic transactions as the key tenets of effectiveness. The report concludes that the regulation is ineffective in various aspects including outdated legislative approaches and technical standards as well as various delays and inefficiencies in implementing the regulations which detract from the regulatory intent.enElectronic signaturesElectronic commerceRegulationSouth AfricaThesis