Electronic Documents in Maritime Trade Law and Practice

The book provides a critical analysis of electronic alternatives to documents used in the international sale of goods carried by sea, including invoices, bills of lading, certificates of insurance, as well as other documentation required under documentary credits, and payment processing arrangements. It constitutes an in-depth discussion of their legal status and the practices relating to their use. The new edition examines recent developments in the evolving digital transformation that is taking place in the field of international trade. The book examines the commercial pressure to move from paper to electronic data, and the new technologies and relationships built for this purpose. This transition is ever evolving and as such an understanding of the attendant legal implications of the change is crucial. Analysis is provided on the adoption by UNCITRAL of its Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records, the author having been involved first hand in its drafting as a delegate and observer in UNCITRAL Working Group IV, and on the Uniform Rules on Bank Payment Obligations (URBPO). The book considers the practical workings and legal underpinnings of new electronic bill of lading platforms such as e-Title and Placing Platform Limited and of pilot projects such as Wave BL, Marco Polo and Voltron. It also examines the legal implications of proposed uses of new technologies such as distributed ledger technologies (DLT) (including blockchain), Internet of Things (IoT) and smart contracts. This book provides a complete and practical analysis of e-documents in cross-border business contracts for goods carried by sea. It examines recent trends in practice and assesses the ability of electronic alternatives to achieve legal functions performed by the paper documents they replace.

1 - Documents Used in International Trade
2 - Legal Aspects of Electronic Communication
3 - International Sale Contracts and their Performance
4 - Legal Framework to Govern Electronic Payment and Electronic Presentation of Documents
5 - Carriage Documents and the Functions that They Perform
6 - Legal Framework to Govern Electronic Transport Documents
7 - Cargo Insurance Documents and the Functions that They Perform
8 - Legal Framework to Govern Electronic Cargo Insurance Documents
9 - Removing Obstacles on the Road to Transition
10 - Electronic Systems for Payment Processing
11 - Electronic Systems for the Issue and Transfer of Rights over Goods in Transit
12 - Electronic Systems for Cargo Insurance

Dr Miriam Goldby is Reader in Shipping, Insurance and Commercial Law at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, Deputy Director of the Centre's Insurance Law Institute, Co-Academic Director of its Institute of Transnational Commercial Law and Director of its LLM in International Shipping Law. She is Deputy Editor of the British Insurance Law Association Journal, and a member of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) Standing Committee on Carriage of Goods and of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commercial Law and Practice Committee. She has received research funding from the British Academy, the ESRC and Lloyd's of London and has contributed to research undertaken by the Bank of England and the Law Commission.