Legal reference

Ghana Digital Evidence Law

How Kotoku's sealed records relate to Ghanaian law — and what gives them standing as evidence.

Core legislation

Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772)

Primary framework. Establishes that electronic records cannot be denied admissibility solely because they are electronic. Governs evidential weight, integrity, and originator identification.

Electronic Transactions Regulations, 2011 (LI 1902)

Implementing regulations specifying technical standards for electronic signatures and records kept under Act 772.

Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323)

Foundational evidence law. The business records exception is relevant — Kotoku's append-only audit log functions as a business record of each transaction.

Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843)

Governs how personal data (phone numbers, ID documents, agreement terms) may be processed. Kotoku's OTP-based consent mechanism satisfies the explicit consent requirement.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798)

Ghana's ADR framework. Kotoku's dispute module is designed as a pre-mediation evidence pack, providing mediators with a structured factual record.

Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 — Key sections

Section 7 — Legal recognition

An electronic communication or electronic record shall not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely on the ground that it is in electronic form.

Section 8 — Writing requirement

Where any law requires information to be in writing, that requirement is satisfied by an electronic record if the information is accessible for subsequent reference.

Section 9 — Signature requirement

Where any law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies that requirement if it is reliable and appropriate in the circumstances. Kotoku's bilateral SMS OTP — issued to a verified phone number tied to a named party — constitutes an electronic signature under this section.

Section 12 — Admissibility and evidential weight

"An electronic record shall not be denied admissibility in any legal proceedings on the sole ground that it is in electronic form." Evidential weight depends on: (1) reliability of the method used to generate or store the record; (2) reliability of the method used to ensure integrity; (3) the method used to identify the originator; (4) any other relevant factor.

How Kotoku satisfies Section 12

Every design decision in Kotoku traces back to one of the four evidential weight factors in Act 772 Section 12.

Act 772 requirement

Kotoku implementation

Reliable generation

Agreement state is written atomically. Every field, party, and evidence item is persisted before the seal hash is computed.

Integrity / tamper-evidence

SHA-256 hash computed over the full agreement snapshot at sealing, stored in VaultEntry. Re-computable for verification. Any post-seal change produces a different hash.

Immutable storage

VaultEntry is append-only. No in-place edits after sealing. Archived entries remain stored; they cannot be deleted by users.

Originator identification

Ghana Card photo + masked ID number per party. Phone verified via SMS OTP before any party can consent. sealed_at ISO 8601 timestamp recorded.

Audit trail

Append-only AuditLog records every state transition with actor, timestamp, and metadata. Cannot be deleted or modified.

Electronic signature

One OTP per party, purpose-scoped, tied to verified phone, stored in ConsentRecord with confirmed_at timestamp.

Practical standing

Kotoku's sealed record does not replace a lawyer-drafted contract for complex commercial transactions. What it provides:

  • ✓A timestamped, hashed, party-consented record that a magistrate, mediator, or arbitrator can examine.
  • ✓Clear identification of who agreed, when, and to what specific terms.
  • ✓Photo evidence of the asset's condition at the time of handover.
  • ✓An audit trail showing no modifications were made after sealing.
  • ✓A structured PDF evidence pack ready for ADR proceedings under Act 798.

This is materially stronger than a verbal agreement or an unsigned WhatsApp message, and it is designed to be admissible under Act 772 Section 12.

Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843)

Kotoku processes personal data (phone numbers, identity photos, agreement terms) under the lawful basis of explicit consent. Each party provides an OTP-confirmed consent record before their data is included in a sealed agreement.

  • ✓Data is collected for a specific, explicit purpose — the named agreement only.
  • ✓Retention periods are enforced automatically. Expired entries are archived by a scheduled task.
  • ✓Parties can raise disputes or add annotations to the sealed record without modifying the original.
  • ✓No data is shared with third parties except where required for the SMS OTP delivery.

Questions about the legal framework? Sign in and raise a question through your agreement's annotation panel, or consult a qualified Ghanaian legal practitioner.