New e-commerce tool will provide secure on-line contracting
Paris, 9 October 2000 --The International Chamber of Commerce and the London-based e-business security company Allagraf are developing an online application that will enable businesses to conclude contracts with the help of secure interactive software.
Under an agreement between ICC and Allagraf, the new business-to-business facility will be based on ICC's model international sale contract, which has been in use worldwide since December 1997.
The product is planned for release early next year. The development phase will include an extensive test period before the application is offered to companies worldwide.
The application will allow contracting companies to go online and use ICC's tried and tested model international sale contract and the Incoterms standard trade definitions with all the legal certainty that these ICC tools provide.
The application permits parties who previously were unknown to each other to identify themselves by means of digital signatures, using Allagraf's Public Key Infrastructure technology. Parties without digital identities will also be able to negotiate contracts online.
Jari-Pekka Alho, ICC e-commerce expert, said: "This e-commerce tool preserves all the advantages of correctly-drafted conventional business-to-business sale contracts in terms of reliability and acceptability.
"It has the backing of ICC's authority and expertise in making the rules for the conduct of trade across borders."
He added: "The new on-line to
ol will be a boon especially for small companies that are using the Internet to become involved in international trade."
Uffe Lindahl, Allagraf Director of Marketing, said: "We are very excited about this partnership. Companies and their business partners anywhere in the world will be able to do business with the benefits of digital communications at Internet speed, combined with the security, certainty and peace of mind associated with conventional paper-based contract negotiation."
Allagraf is a joint venture between US-based PKI-leader ID Certify, Inc and e-trade experts Marinade Ltd.
Allagraf