Elektroniska sjötransportdokument eller Kontrollrättens konsekvenser
(2014) JURM02 20141Department of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Under senmedeltiden och den tidigmoderna tiden ökade den internationella sjöhandeln kraftigt och successivt skedde en förändring i det merkantila handelsbruket: I takt med att resorna blev längre och mer tidskrävande upphörde lastägarna att tillsammans med sitt gods resa med på transportfartygen. Lastägarnas uteblivna närvaro ersattes med enkla transportdokument, ofta benämnda som ”konossement”. Konossementet kom emellertid att utvecklades i takt med att fler användningsområden efterfrågades och har med tiden erhållit en tämligen unik, tredelad funktion.
Konossementet har sedan 1700-talets slut fungerat som ett bevis för ett existerande transportavtal, som kvitto för mottaget gods och som ett överlåtbart godsrepresentativt dokument.... (More) - Under senmedeltiden och den tidigmoderna tiden ökade den internationella sjöhandeln kraftigt och successivt skedde en förändring i det merkantila handelsbruket: I takt med att resorna blev längre och mer tidskrävande upphörde lastägarna att tillsammans med sitt gods resa med på transportfartygen. Lastägarnas uteblivna närvaro ersattes med enkla transportdokument, ofta benämnda som ”konossement”. Konossementet kom emellertid att utvecklades i takt med att fler användningsområden efterfrågades och har med tiden erhållit en tämligen unik, tredelad funktion.
Konossementet har sedan 1700-talets slut fungerat som ett bevis för ett existerande transportavtal, som kvitto för mottaget gods och som ett överlåtbart godsrepresentativt dokument. Innehavet av ett konossement likställs med besittning av det gods som konossementet representerar, och en överlåtelse av konossementet likställs med överlåtelse av godset. Denna funktion har möjliggjort att gods kan säljas, inte sällan många gånger om, under en pågående transport, och den slutgiltiga köparen kan, med papperskonossementet i sin hand, kräva leverans av godset i avlastningshamnen.
Konossementets egenskaper uppställer krav om att leverans av gods endast får ske mot presentation av ett originalkonossement, något som de senaste decennierna vållat allvarliga problem. Börsstyrda spekulationer med gods i form av bulk- och råvaror, sjötransporternas tilltagande hastighet och allmänt långsammare posttjänster leder idag till att gods många gånger anländer till sin avlastningshamn innan konossementet finns på plats, detta problem förhindrar utlämningen av gods och orsakar ofta förseningar.
Idag är omedelbar kommunikation, till och från alla världens hörn, en realitet, också till transportörer på öppet hav. Detta innebär rent praktiskt att ett pappersdokument som symbol för godset inte längre är en funktionsmässig nödvändighet. De potentiella fördelarna med att använda elektroniska system i stället för papperstransportdokument är enorma: kostnadsbesparingar, snabbare transaktioner, förenklade betalningsarrangemang och högre säkerhet. Sedan 1980-talet har en handfull försök gjorts att etablera globala system för elektroniska transportdokument, dessa försök har hitintills, till största del misslyckats, främst på grund av avsaknaden av internationella regler för att elektroniskt utöva och överföra rättigheter i gods under transport.
UNCITRAL har under det senaste decenniet arbetat för att fylla denna legala lucka. Inte minst genom framtagandet av en ny, heltäckande transportkonvention: Rotterdamreglerna. Konventionen, som ännu inte trätt i kraft, likställer elektroniska dokument med pappersdokument och möjliggör för överlåtandet av rättigheter i gods, antingen genom överlåtande av elektroniska transportdokument (symbolsystem) eller genom att på annat sätt överföra kontrollrätten över gods i transport (registersystem). (Less) - Abstract
- During the late middle ages and the early modern times, international trade by sea increased significantly and a gradual change took place in the mercantile trade practice: As the trips became longer, and more time consuming, the merchants (the cargo owners) ceased to travel along with their cargo aboard the ships. The lack of the cargo owner’s presence was replaced by simple transport documents, often referred to as "Bills of Lading". The bill of lading did, however, develop as more areas of use were requested from it, and, over time, it has acquired a rather unique, tripartite feature.
The bill of lading has, since the late 18th century, functioned as evidence of the contract of carriage, as a receipt for the received goods and as a... (More) - During the late middle ages and the early modern times, international trade by sea increased significantly and a gradual change took place in the mercantile trade practice: As the trips became longer, and more time consuming, the merchants (the cargo owners) ceased to travel along with their cargo aboard the ships. The lack of the cargo owner’s presence was replaced by simple transport documents, often referred to as "Bills of Lading". The bill of lading did, however, develop as more areas of use were requested from it, and, over time, it has acquired a rather unique, tripartite feature.
The bill of lading has, since the late 18th century, functioned as evidence of the contract of carriage, as a receipt for the received goods and as a negotiable document of title. The possession of a bill of lading is equated with possession of the goods that the bill of lading represents and a transfer of the bill of lading is equated with transfer of the goods. This feature has made it possible for goods to be sold, often many times over, during transit, and the ultimate purchaser may, with the paper bill of lading in his hand, demand delivery of the goods at the port of unloading.
The properties of the bill of lading impose the requirement that delivery of goods shall be subject to presentation of an original bill of lading, something which in recent decades has caused serious troubles. Stock exchange controlled speculation in goods in the form of bulk and raw materials; increased speed of shipping and generally slower postal services has leads to the issue that goods often arrive at their unloading port before the bill of lading is in place. This problem prevents delivery of the goods and often causes delays.
Today, instant communication, to and from all corners of the world, is a reality, also to carriers on the high seas. This means, in practice, that a paper document as symbol of the goods, no longer is a functional necessity. The benefits of using electronic systems in place of paper transport documents are potentially enormous: cost savings, faster transactions, simplified payment arrangement and higher security. Since the 1980s, a handful of attempts have been made to establish a global system of electronic transport documents, these attempts have so far, largely failed, mainly due to the lack of international regulations to electronically exercise and transfer rights in goods that are in transit.
UNCITRAL has over the past decade been working to fill this legal gap. Predominantly through the development of a new, comprehensive transport convention: The Rotterdam rules. The convention, which has not yet entered into force, equates electronic documents with paper documents and allow for the transfer of rights in goods, either by transfer of electronic transport documents (symbol systems) or through other ways of transferring the right of control over goods in transit (registry systems).
The result is nothing less than a comprehensive international legal backbone for unhindered future development of functionally perfected electronic transport document systems. The flexibility of the convention furthermore ensures that the ability to exercise and transfer rights in goods in transit, is unaffected, also in international sea transports operating without the use of any, in the convention defined transport documents. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4449538
- author
- Wikerstål, Hampus LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Electronic transport documents or The consequences of the right of control
- course
- JURM02 20141
- year
- 2014
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- sjörätt, transporträtt, kommersiell avtalsrätt, konossement, Rotterdamreglerna, bill of lading, UNCITRAL
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 4449538
- date added to LUP
- 2014-06-12 09:03:53
- date last changed
- 2014-06-12 09:03:53
@misc{4449538,
abstract = {{During the late middle ages and the early modern times, international trade by sea increased significantly and a gradual change took place in the mercantile trade practice: As the trips became longer, and more time consuming, the merchants (the cargo owners) ceased to travel along with their cargo aboard the ships. The lack of the cargo owner’s presence was replaced by simple transport documents, often referred to as "Bills of Lading". The bill of lading did, however, develop as more areas of use were requested from it, and, over time, it has acquired a rather unique, tripartite feature.
The bill of lading has, since the late 18th century, functioned as evidence of the contract of carriage, as a receipt for the received goods and as a negotiable document of title. The possession of a bill of lading is equated with possession of the goods that the bill of lading represents and a transfer of the bill of lading is equated with transfer of the goods. This feature has made it possible for goods to be sold, often many times over, during transit, and the ultimate purchaser may, with the paper bill of lading in his hand, demand delivery of the goods at the port of unloading.
The properties of the bill of lading impose the requirement that delivery of goods shall be subject to presentation of an original bill of lading, something which in recent decades has caused serious troubles. Stock exchange controlled speculation in goods in the form of bulk and raw materials; increased speed of shipping and generally slower postal services has leads to the issue that goods often arrive at their unloading port before the bill of lading is in place. This problem prevents delivery of the goods and often causes delays.
Today, instant communication, to and from all corners of the world, is a reality, also to carriers on the high seas. This means, in practice, that a paper document as symbol of the goods, no longer is a functional necessity. The benefits of using electronic systems in place of paper transport documents are potentially enormous: cost savings, faster transactions, simplified payment arrangement and higher security. Since the 1980s, a handful of attempts have been made to establish a global system of electronic transport documents, these attempts have so far, largely failed, mainly due to the lack of international regulations to electronically exercise and transfer rights in goods that are in transit.
UNCITRAL has over the past decade been working to fill this legal gap. Predominantly through the development of a new, comprehensive transport convention: The Rotterdam rules. The convention, which has not yet entered into force, equates electronic documents with paper documents and allow for the transfer of rights in goods, either by transfer of electronic transport documents (symbol systems) or through other ways of transferring the right of control over goods in transit (registry systems).
The result is nothing less than a comprehensive international legal backbone for unhindered future development of functionally perfected electronic transport document systems. The flexibility of the convention furthermore ensures that the ability to exercise and transfer rights in goods in transit, is unaffected, also in international sea transports operating without the use of any, in the convention defined transport documents.}},
author = {{Wikerstål, Hampus}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Elektroniska sjötransportdokument eller Kontrollrättens konsekvenser}},
year = {{2014}},
}