The Third Panel of the Superior Court of Justice (“STJ”) ruled that the presumption of authenticity of an electronic signature certified by a private legal entity should not be disregarded solely because the entity is not accredited with the Brazilian Public Key Infrastructure (“ICP-Brasil”).
According to the Reporting Justice, Minister Nancy Andrighi, the ICP-Brasil certification system “did not exclude other means of legal validation of electronic documents and signatures,” as provided in paragraph 2, Article 10 of Provisional Measure 2200/2001. The Minister further noted that the intention of the legislator, in Law 14.063/2020, was to “create different levels of evidentiary strength for electronic signatures […] and – at the same time – grant legal validity to any type of electronic signature, taking into account private autonomy and the freedom of form in declarations of intent between private parties.”
(Superior Court of Justice, Special Appeal No. 2.159.442/SP, Third Panel, Reporting Justice Minister Nancy Andrighi, judgment rendered on 09/24/2024)