Lloyd's Shipping & Trade Law

Harmonisation of law on electronic trade documents has been driven by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and domestic legislation. The UNCITRAL model law and domestic legislation recognise the legal effect of electronic trade documents by applying exclusive control over the electronic documents in reliable electronic systems. However, the international rules and domestic legislation adopt different approaches in terms of the scope of trade documents, methods of determining the legal effect and the assessment of reliable systems.

The digitalisation of trade has long promised efficiency and transparency. Yet one of the greatest challenges that has persisted is legal, rather than technical, in nature. Despite rapid advances in technology and data infrastructure, global commerce remained dependent on paper-based bills of lading (BLs) because legal frameworks could not recognise their electronic equivalents.

Refusing voyage orders upon sanctions risk assessments

Multiple uses of the oceans and the obligatory matrix