As electronic commerce becomes more widespread, international bodies and national governments have been implementing legislation to ensure that electronic documents carry the same legal weight are their paper counterparts.
The major initiatives in this area have been driven by the United Nations and the International Chamber of Commerce. The UN created the UNCITRAL Model Laws on Electronic Commerce and Digital Signatures, both of which now form the basis for legislation throughout the world. The ICC has defined e-terms and the eUCP to facilitate greater adoption of electronic commerce in international trade.
But the bill of lading has remained outside of recent legislative changes because of its unique characteristics as a negotiable document and a contract of carriage. Most countries have avoided electronic legislation covering the bill of lading because the electronic means for transferring electronic bills of lading have not been available or were deficient.
e-title™ fills the legislative gap by providing a private agreement that defines the rights and obligations of all parties using electronic titles. It is based on English Common Law and will work in every major trading jurisdiction as long as they apply English Common Law to the agreement.
The agreement is multilateral – all parties are signatories. It provides the legal foundation to allow the transfer of bills of lading using e-title™. It also ensures that the underlying contract of carriage remains in force as if the paper bill of lading were used.
As a counterpart to the e-title™ application, the Electronic Title User Agreement provides the legal foundation required for the creation and transfer of electronic title documents, giving users the confidence to remove paper from the process.
For more information on the various international legal initiatives, see the following links:
UNCITRAL Model of Law on Electronic Commerce
UNICTRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures