UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records as a Potential Legal Regime for the Use of Electronic Bills of Lading

Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (hereinafter, “MLETR”) was officially adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in July 2017. The main goal of the MLETR is to provide a harmonized legal regime for the recognition and enforcement of electronic transferable records in cross-border transactions. By achieving this goal, the MLETR may facilitate the replacement of paper-based transferable documents with electronic data transmission.
Bill of lading is one of the essential transferable documents that fall under the scope of application of the MLETR. The UNCITRAL Working Group IV made it clear that facilitating the use of electronic bills of lading is one of the primary objectives of the MLETR. The issue is whether the MLETR would provide an adequate legal basis for the use of electronic bills of lading. This question requires examining provisions of the MLETR relevant to the use of electronic bills of lading.
This paper aims to assess the significance and impact of the MLETR as a potential legal regime for electronic bills of lading. After addressing the need for this legal instrument, the paper will analyze the key provisions of the MLETR to identify its major achievements and possible shortcomings that need to be addressed. The focus will be on some aspects of transferability, such as singularity, control, and standards of reliability. The analysis of the MLETR further aims to address the question as to how the MLETR could assist in the implementation of the existing legal regulations on electronic bills of lading and facilitate the use of electronic bills of lading in practice.