Electronic Bills of Lading and Bloc kchain Technology: A Regulatory

Abstract

Information and communications technology (ICT) systems are increasingly relevant to the maritime sector. Regarding the revolution of the bill of lading, many shipping lines and other technology startups have been looking into developing viable electronic transport documents that have the same functions as paper bills of lading to reduce supply chain risks. The limitations of the paper-based process have become increasingly visible in the COVID-19 crisis. The main purpose of the article is to analyze the application of blockchain bills of lading, which utilizes computational logic to create the digital ledger, and users can set up algorithms and rules to spontaneously generate transactions between nodes. Considering the legal uncertainties regarding electronic transferable records in international trade, a uniform legal regime based on international conventions or common standards would better grant the feasibility of the blockchain bill of lading. Positive law instruments such as the Rotterdam Rules and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) could provide a significant regulatory framework for the future legal infrastructure of blockchain bills of lading. This article identifies the specific issues as well as the solutions that can be achieved to the existing legal framework to accommodate the integration of blockchain methodology into bills of lading in the shipping industry.