Use of electronic communications
31.—(1) Any requirement imposed under these Rules as to the giving or sending by one person to another of a notice or other document may be met by means of an electronic communication if—
(a)the use of such a communication results in the information contained in that notice or document being available to the other person in all material respects as it would appear in a notice or document given or sent in printed form; and
(b)the other person has consented to the information being made available to him by such means.
(2) Where, under paragraph (1), an electronic communication is used for the purposes of giving or sending a document, any requirement for the notice or document to be given or sent by a particular time shall be met in respect of an electronic communication only if the conditions mentioned in paragraph (1) are met by that time.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), “in all material respects” means in all respects material to an exact reproduction of the information that the notice or document would contain were it to be given or sent in printed form.
(4) In this rule, “electronic communication” has the meaning given in section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000(1).
2000 c.7. The definition of “electronic communication” in section 15(1) was amended by the Communications Act 2003 (c.21), Schedule 17, paragraph 158.