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LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Electronic bill of lading

Svensson, Björn LU (2011) JURM01 20111
Department of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Detta examensarbete behandlar ett aktuellt ämne – utmaningarna i att implementera elektroniska konossement i den internationella handeln. Många fördelar kan erhållas om de införs, exempelvis en bättre miljö, lägre kostnader för dokumentation och en enklare metod för att sluta avtal.

I examensarbetet kombineras den juridiska metoden med intervjuer och enkäter med olika aktörer i branschen – banker, rederier och speditionsfirmor.

Resultatet visar att bristen på framgång för de elektroniska konossementen beror på ett allmänt motstånd och en konservativ hållning bland marknadens aktörer samt att lagstiftningen i många fall antingen är föråldrad eller att bestämmelserna inte ger ett tillräckligt tydligt stöd för den nya tekniken. Det... (More)
Detta examensarbete behandlar ett aktuellt ämne – utmaningarna i att implementera elektroniska konossement i den internationella handeln. Många fördelar kan erhållas om de införs, exempelvis en bättre miljö, lägre kostnader för dokumentation och en enklare metod för att sluta avtal.

I examensarbetet kombineras den juridiska metoden med intervjuer och enkäter med olika aktörer i branschen – banker, rederier och speditionsfirmor.

Resultatet visar att bristen på framgång för de elektroniska konossementen beror på ett allmänt motstånd och en konservativ hållning bland marknadens aktörer samt att lagstiftningen i många fall antingen är föråldrad eller att bestämmelserna inte ger ett tillräckligt tydligt stöd för den nya tekniken. Det förefaller som om de tekniska lösningarna utvecklas snabbare än regelverken.

Arbetet har huvudsakligen inriktats på ett antal egenskaper som jämförs mellan elektroniska konossement och papperskonossement. Dessa utgörs av det skrivna dokumentet, underskriften, originalet och möjligheten att överlåta. Särskilt de första tre är intimt sammankopplade. Beträffande underskriften kan den göras med hjälp av digitala signaturer, men problemet ligger i att man senare inte kan garantera att dokumentet hanteras konfidentiellt, såvida en lämplig kryptografisk lösning inte har utarbetats.

Regelverken som rederierna har att följa är mestadels baserade på civilrättslig lagstiftning och avtal. En övergång till att införliva reglerna för elektroniska konossement samt elektroniska remburser med de nationella lagarna skulle kunna skynda på processen mot en ökad användning av elektroniska transportdokument.

Ytterligare en iakttagelse är de problem som är förknippade med möjligheten att skapa ett obegränsat antal kopior av elektroniska dokument, jämfört med pappersdokument. Denna egenskap kan också utgöra ett allvarligt hinder för användning av elektroniska konossement. (Less)
Abstract
This thesis deals with an urgent topic today – the challenges of implementing electronic bills of lading in international trade. Lots of advantages can be gained from introducing them, for example a better environment, lower prices of documentation and an easier contractual procedure.

In the master thesis, the legal method is combined with interviews and enquiries with different interested parties in this line of business – banks, shipping companies and forwarding agents.

The results show that the lack of success for the electronic bills of lading
is attributable to the general resistance and a conservative view among the aforementioned parties and that the legislation often is either obsolete or that the provisions do not support... (More)
This thesis deals with an urgent topic today – the challenges of implementing electronic bills of lading in international trade. Lots of advantages can be gained from introducing them, for example a better environment, lower prices of documentation and an easier contractual procedure.

In the master thesis, the legal method is combined with interviews and enquiries with different interested parties in this line of business – banks, shipping companies and forwarding agents.

The results show that the lack of success for the electronic bills of lading
is attributable to the general resistance and a conservative view among the aforementioned parties and that the legislation often is either obsolete or that the provisions do not support the new technology in a way that is appropriate. It seems like the technical solutions develop faster than the legal ones.

The work has predominantly been focused on a number of features that are compared between the electronic bill of lading and the paper-based bill of lading. These features are the written document, the signature, the original and negotiability. Especially the first three features are closely related. As to the signature, it can be done with digital signatures, but the problem is that it is not possible to guarantee that the document is handled confidentially, unless no appropriate cryptographic method has been elaborated.

The rules that regulate the activities of the shipping companies are principally based on civil law and contracts. A development towards incorporating the rules governing electronic bills of lading and electronic letters of credit could increase the pace of the change towards a more common use of electronic transport documents.

Another observation is the problem as to the possibility of replicating electronic documents, compared to paper documents. This feature may also be a serious impediment to the use of electronic bills of lading. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Svensson, Björn LU
supervisor
organization
course
JURM01 20111
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
electronic bills of lading, shipping, transportation, Maritime law
language
English
id
1768559
date added to LUP
2011-02-11 14:00:25
date last changed
2011-02-11 14:00:25
@misc{1768559,
  abstract     = {{This thesis deals with an urgent topic today – the challenges of implementing electronic bills of lading in international trade. Lots of advantages can be gained from introducing them, for example a better environment, lower prices of documentation and an easier contractual procedure.

In the master thesis, the legal method is combined with interviews and enquiries with different interested parties in this line of business – banks, shipping companies and forwarding agents.

The results show that the lack of success for the electronic bills of lading
is attributable to the general resistance and a conservative view among the aforementioned parties and that the legislation often is either obsolete or that the provisions do not support the new technology in a way that is appropriate. It seems like the technical solutions develop faster than the legal ones. 

The work has predominantly been focused on a number of features that are compared between the electronic bill of lading and the paper-based bill of lading. These features are the written document, the signature, the original and negotiability. Especially the first three features are closely related. As to the signature, it can be done with digital signatures, but the problem is that it is not possible to guarantee that the document is handled confidentially, unless no appropriate cryptographic method has been elaborated.

The rules that regulate the activities of the shipping companies are principally based on civil law and contracts. A development towards incorporating the rules governing electronic bills of lading and electronic letters of credit could increase the pace of the change towards a more common use of electronic transport documents.

Another observation is the problem as to the possibility of replicating electronic documents, compared to paper documents. This feature may also be a serious impediment to the use of electronic bills of lading.}},
  author       = {{Svensson, Björn}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Electronic bill of lading}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}