Recommendations for the incorporation of electronic bill of lading into Pakistani law using lessons from the experiences of UK and other jurisdictions
The paper bill of lading is serving the maritime trade for centuries however with the advancement in technology and on the demand of the market, the debate is going onward to replace paper B/L with electronic bill of lading. Use of Paper B/L has become challenging as paper B/L arrives late and goods arrive at port of discharge way before the arrival of traditional B/L. The e-B/L can easily replace receipt and contract of carriage functions of paper B/L through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), but the problem arises with the document of title function as it is difficult to replace negotiability function in electronic form. The document of title function is achieved through writing an endorsement note on the back of paper B/L however there is no harmonised system for document of title function in e-B/L. It brings market issues. The United Nations Rotterdam Rules (2008) and UNCITRAL Model Laws MLEC and MLETR provided a legal framework for e-B/L; however, only a few countries have ratified it, so the legal issue has not been resolved yet. Pakistan is also using traditional B/L through pre partition laws which are outdated. The thesis made a comparison between the UK, Pakistan and various jurisdiction (such as USA, Korea and Singapore) laws regarding e-B/L. The comparison was drawn to find a way to replace paper B/L with e-B/L in Pakistan. In the absence of harmonised approach by international community, the private sector worked to develop and promote e-B/L, such as SEADOCS and CMI Rules models (these are private sector led initiatives) were introduced, but all of them have some drawbacks. Some of e-B/L models use central registries and some use token system which is not required in traditional B/L. Moreover, no harmonised approach was adopted towards any of the following models, which creates problems. Private sector introduced these electronic bills of lading models to meet the industry demand. All these private sectors led e-B/L models have their own rulebooks, terms and conditions and parties should become their members to use these e-B/L models therefore use of these e-B/L models also brings complications. This thesis focused on the legal features of adopting the e-B/L. The doctrinal research method is applied in this thesis with comparative research. The main objectives of the thesis were to identify the legal issues in implementing an electronic bill of lading, evaluate the most prevalent models of the e-B/L in terms of legal issues raised, and recommend strategies for fully adopting the e-B/L legally in Pakistan. The thesis finds that Pakistan needs to work on two levels firstly Pakistan should investigate best available laws and practices adopted by different countries such as UK, USA and Korea as these jurisdictions have adopted e-B/L and secondly should examine adoption of principles approved in international convention such as Rotterdam Rules and UN model law MLETR.
Electronic bill of lading, Paper bill of lading, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Rotterdam Rules, Pakistani law
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