MOSCOW, May 25 - RAPSI. Digital documents may soon have the same legal standing as paper documents, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily reports on Friday.

The relevant law is likely to be adopted in the fall, the Federal Notarial Chamber President Maria Sazonova told the newspaper.

The Justice Ministry proposed that e-documents duly certified by a notary's e-signature should be on a par with hard copies.

People will not have to carry a case full of documents - an iPhone will suffice. Indeed, the draft law may be the first step toward a digital society.

Certain federal laws will have to be amended establishing the e-document's legal status and stipulating its legal force in court and the prosecutor's office, as well as for notaries and rendering public services in electronic form.

Meanwhile, Russian notaries are already testing out new technologies in various aspects of their work.