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The Future of Carriage of Goods by Sea: A Legal Analysis of Electronic Bills of Lading

Rajabi, Hanif LU (2019) JURM02 20191
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
The commercial carriage of goods by sea is a vital part of global trade. Considering how the planet is constructed, this is unlikely to change. While technological advances are constantly made, the maritime sector has been limited due to lack of a modern legal framework covering electronic transport records. Therefore, The Future of Carriage of Goods by Sea: A Legal Analysis of Electronic Bills of Lading, aimed to examine the legal regime governing electronic bills of lading.

The research for this graduate thesis was conducted using the legal dogmatic method. The traditional primary and secondary sources of law were analysed to find legal solutions to the issues raised in this thesis. The research questions of the thesis included why... (More)
The commercial carriage of goods by sea is a vital part of global trade. Considering how the planet is constructed, this is unlikely to change. While technological advances are constantly made, the maritime sector has been limited due to lack of a modern legal framework covering electronic transport records. Therefore, The Future of Carriage of Goods by Sea: A Legal Analysis of Electronic Bills of Lading, aimed to examine the legal regime governing electronic bills of lading.

The research for this graduate thesis was conducted using the legal dogmatic method. The traditional primary and secondary sources of law were analysed to find legal solutions to the issues raised in this thesis. The research questions of the thesis included why electronic bills of lading are preferable and how they can be legally used. The analysis of this thesis proved that improved efficiency is the main reason to use electronic bills of lading. It also highlighted the lack of a functional legal regime governing these bills under English law.

An important aspect of this thesis was to examine the Rotterdam Rules as the solution to fill the legal vacuum. The recommendation of the thesis included the ratification of the Rotterdam Rules in relation to electronic transport records. However, this Convention is not likely to enter into force anytime soon. The author of this thesis concluded that individual states should primarily adopt UNCITRAL’s Model Law into their national law. The purpose of this would be to give electronic bills of lading legal coverage while preparing their national laws for the technological solutions of tomorrow. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Kommersiella godstransporter till sjöss är en viktig del av den globala handeln. Med tanke på hur planeten är konstruerad är det osannolikt att det kommer att ändras. Samtidigt som det konstant görs teknologiska framsteg världen över har sjöfartsbranschen varit begränsad på grund av bristen på internationella rättsliga normer gällande elektroniska konossement. Därför syftade The Future of Carriage of Goods by Sea: A Legal Analysis of Electronic Bills of Lading till att analysera de rättsregler som reglerar elektroniska konossement.

Forskningen inför examensarbetet utfördes med hjälp av den rättsdogmatiska metoden. De traditionella primär- och sekundärkällorna analyserades för att hitta juridiska lösningar på examensarbetets... (More)
Kommersiella godstransporter till sjöss är en viktig del av den globala handeln. Med tanke på hur planeten är konstruerad är det osannolikt att det kommer att ändras. Samtidigt som det konstant görs teknologiska framsteg världen över har sjöfartsbranschen varit begränsad på grund av bristen på internationella rättsliga normer gällande elektroniska konossement. Därför syftade The Future of Carriage of Goods by Sea: A Legal Analysis of Electronic Bills of Lading till att analysera de rättsregler som reglerar elektroniska konossement.

Forskningen inför examensarbetet utfördes med hjälp av den rättsdogmatiska metoden. De traditionella primär- och sekundärkällorna analyserades för att hitta juridiska lösningar på examensarbetets problemformuleringar. Forskningsfrågorna berörde varför elektroniska konossement är att föredra och hur de kan användas i ett juridiskt perspektiv. Examensarbetet framhävde att förbättrad effektivitet är den främsta anledningen till att använda elektroniska konossement. Dessutom belyste diskussionerna bristen på adekvata rättsregler i förhållande till dessa under engelsk rätt.

I examensarbetet undersöktes även Rotterdamreglerna som lösningen för att fylla det legala vakuumet. Avhandlingens rekommendation innefattade ratificeringen av Rotterdamreglerna för att underlätta användningen av elektroniska konossement. Däremot kommer konventionen förmodligen inte att träda ikraft inom en snar framtid. Därför rekommenderade författaren att enskilda stater i första hand bör anta UNCITRAL:s lagförslag i sin nationella lagstiftning. Syftet med detta är att ge användandet av elektroniska konossement juridiskt stöd samtidigt som nationella rättsordningar förbereds inför morgondagens lösningar. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rajabi, Hanif LU
supervisor
organization
course
JURM02 20191
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Law, Maritime Law, Transportation Law, International Private Law, Sjörätt, Transporträtt, Rotterdam, Bills of Lading
language
English
id
8977205
date added to LUP
2019-06-11 17:25:18
date last changed
2019-06-11 17:25:18
@misc{8977205,
  abstract     = {{The commercial carriage of goods by sea is a vital part of global trade. Considering how the planet is constructed, this is unlikely to change. While technological advances are constantly made, the maritime sector has been limited due to lack of a modern legal framework covering electronic transport records. Therefore, The Future of Carriage of Goods by Sea: A Legal Analysis of Electronic Bills of Lading, aimed to examine the legal regime governing electronic bills of lading.

The research for this graduate thesis was conducted using the legal dogmatic method. The traditional primary and secondary sources of law were analysed to find legal solutions to the issues raised in this thesis. The research questions of the thesis included why electronic bills of lading are preferable and how they can be legally used. The analysis of this thesis proved that improved efficiency is the main reason to use electronic bills of lading. It also highlighted the lack of a functional legal regime governing these bills under English law.

An important aspect of this thesis was to examine the Rotterdam Rules as the solution to fill the legal vacuum. The recommendation of the thesis included the ratification of the Rotterdam Rules in relation to electronic transport records. However, this Convention is not likely to enter into force anytime soon. The author of this thesis concluded that individual states should primarily adopt UNCITRAL’s Model Law into their national law. The purpose of this would be to give electronic bills of lading legal coverage while preparing their national laws for the technological solutions of tomorrow.}},
  author       = {{Rajabi, Hanif}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Future of Carriage of Goods by Sea: A Legal Analysis of Electronic Bills of Lading}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}