Legal Significance of Signatures

As far as concrete law is concerned, this section only deals with the example of the Federal Republic of Germany. To my knowledge, the principles are very similar in other countries, at least in Western Europe and the Anglo-Saxon countries (see, e.g., [ABEP90]). In parts of the USA, digital signatures have recently been given 

In these cases, the significance of handwritten signatures has two main components  

The signature is to make clear that the signer has indeed produced the signed document as a declaration of intention it may later serve as a piece of evidence to this effect. 

The warning function ( Wamfunktion ) The act of signing should call the signer s attention to the fact that he or she is about to carry out a legal transaction ( Rechtsgeschaft ). This protects persons from ill-considered acts. 

The following considerations are therefore restricted to the first function. This function is sometimes subdivided into three parts  

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