Published 1994-07-21
Keywords
- bills of lading,
- electronic bills of lading,
- functional equivalence,
- negotiability,
- electronic signature
- electronic writing,
- contract formation,
- sea waybill,
- electronic data interchange (EDI),
- UNCITRAL Working Group on EDI,
- UNCITRAL Model Statutory Provisions on EDI,
- CMI,
- public and private key cryptography,
- Hague-Visby Rules,
- document authenticity ,
- Hamburg Rules,
- computer-generated information evidence,
- hearsay evidence,
- best evidence rule,
- communication error,
- electronic sea waybill ...More
Abstract
(Readers should note that only Part III of this paper is available.)
The purpose of this Discussion Paper is primarily to identify some relevant legal problems in the area of maritime legal documentation and present some proposals for appropriate reform in the areas where the law may be out of step with current or developing commercial practice. This is a focus on some perceived difficulties with bills of lading and related questions. As the authors explain, modernising the law to accommodate the development of commercial practice will assist Australian trading operators specifically, and the characterisation of Australia generally as an efficient and innovative trading nation.
With respect to electronic bills of lading, the paper suggests that legal policy areas should be vigilant and take a cooperative approach, in identifying legal constraints that unnecessarily inhibit the operation of market forces toward the more efficient use of EDI technology in the area of shipping trade documentation. Moreover, any reform of bills of lading legislation should include a provision similar to the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 (UK), allowing the making of regulations to make provision for the application of the legislation to cases where EDI systems are used. Lastly, the functional equivalence approach as advanced by the EDI Working Group of UNCITRAL should be further examined with a view to its applicability to electronic shipping documents.