It addresses the determination of a party ' s location in an electronic environment ; the time and place of dispatch and receipt of electronic communications ; the use of automated message systems for contract formation ; and the criteria to be used for establishing functional equivalence between electronic communications and paper documents - - including " original " paper documents - - as well as between electronic authentication methods and hand - written signatures 公约处理的问题包括如何确定一方当事人在电子环境中的所在地；电子通信的收发时间和地点；使用自动信息系统订立合同；以及确立电子通信和纸面文件（包括"原始"纸面文件）以及电子认证方法和手写签名功能上等同所使用的标准。
