E conveyancing what the lawyers are being told

[Donald ramsbottom]

I have just watched a Training video issued by the college of Law on the
Land Registration Actt 2002 (it has just received the Royal assent and is
on the Gov website):

http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2002.htm

It was a truly frightening experience. The man from the Government
Taskforce waxed lyrically about his "transaction matrices" and he gleefuly
showed off his Notebook with them on. The frightening bit was that when all
the green lights "were on" the transaction was automatically exchanged!
There was no explanation of how requisite authority, electronic signatures,
verification , CAs, or anything on security, other than it would all take
place on a secure "intranet".

The Next section dealt with electronic conveyancing and several solicitors
waxed lyrically about PKI. No details of Esigs security, CAs, etc were
given and even an admission, that the "final technolgy had yet to be
settled on". This is apparently set to go "Live" in October 2003!

One particular irony was that there was a recognition that the solicitor
would have to do the signing on behalf of the client, but we were told the
client would have to give "written authority" to the solicitor, by signing
a piece of paper to say the solicitor could do it electronically!

All technical issues were by passed through out, and my none technical
colleagues watching the same, had some very searching questions on E sigs,
much of which I have mentioned here before.

The Intranet is distrubing from a privacy point of view as it seems it will
be hosted on the Land Registry intranet and as such all details of the
transaction have to be given to the Land Registry before completion, so
they can construct their "virtual registry". At the present time the first
any Governmantal organisationor Quango gets to know anything about your
affairs is when the Registraion takes place after completion (in most cases).

Mortgages and their signing and implementation were studiously avoided, as
was the cost of implementation, and the cost in time of explaining to the
little old lady of  95 what PKI was and why it was needed!

So solicitors throughout the land will be of the opinion everything has
been buttoned down and there are no technical problems, boy are they in for
a shock.



Donald Ramsbottom BA LLb (Hons) PGdip
Ramsbottom & Co Solicitors
Internet and Global Encryption Law Specialists & General UK  Law Matters
5 Seagrove Avenue Hayling Island Hampshire UK
Tel (44) 023 9246 5931 Fax (44) 023 9246 8349
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