Research On Legal System Of Transfer Of Electronic B/L From The Perspective Of Transportation Law Convention

Bill of lading, a document"invented"by the European merchant, has now become the footstone of international business and international shipping, through centuries of practices, conventions and improvements. However, since 1980's, along with the development of shipping technology, various problems of B/L are becoming more and more prominent and complex in a diversified trend. Part of those problems are from the inherent shortcomings of B/L, such as the paper-based form, which makes the high cost and is also easy for fraud; while other problems arise from the technological development and changes in the customary practices, for example, the wide application of container transportation increases the short voyages and ship dispatch speed, thus leading to the result that goods can be released without documents. The conflict between B/L and sea transportation is intensified day by day by all these problems and coupled with the rapid development and application of E-commerce, electronic bill of lading come into being to the times'requirement. The emergence of electronic B/L has brought great impact to the traditional B/L and caused people's tremendous interests and thoughts, of which the most important is the study on transfer system of electronic B/L. Regulations on electronic B/L have already been added into the UNCITRAL"Transportation Law Convention", and it is one of the efforts made to meet the needs of new developments in international business. This thesis constructs a theoretical framework of electronic B/L transfer system, taking the relative clauses about electronic B/L in"Transportation Law Convention"as its clue, and developing itself to the general idea of study on electronic B/L transfer. It can be called a bold attempt in this field. This thesis is divided into four chapters both in content and structure.Analysis of the forming background, signification, and its legal character of electronic B/L, is the precondition to further studies on other relative problems of electronic B/L transfer. So ChapterⅠmainly dissertates on this aspect and studies separately the basis of electronic B/L transfer—issue of electronic B/L, illustrating the difference between electronic B/L and traditional B/L , from both aspects of issuing body and issuing time.ChapterⅡfirst studies theoretically the transferability of electronic B/L, and puts forward its theoretical and legal basis. And it further points out its meanings through characteristics analysis. Then it analyzes the transferability characteristics of electronic B/L, by comparing its two operation modes of CMI"electronic B/L rules"and Bolero system. It puts forward the following two transfer modes believed feasible by the writer—the electronic B/L is transferred through code transfer and B/L-encryption transfer instead of the electronic B/L itself being transferred.The core issue in transferability of electronic B/L is its effectiveness, which means what kind of legal effect it will have on all parties involved. ChapterⅢdissertates on the rights and responsibilities of B/L holder, shipper, and carrier respectively, based on the relative regulations in "Transportation Law Convention"ChapterⅣfocuses on the legal issues regarding failures in electronic B/L transfer. It analyzes respectively the relevant problems in responsibility undertaking for transfer failures resulted from man-made causes and electronic communication system fault, and brings forward corresponding remedy schemes for losses caused by electronic communication system fault.The study on electronic B/L transfer system plays an important role in the wide application of electronic B/L in international business practices, which is also the meaning of this thesis. Electronic B/L will be further understood through the analysis of its transfer in this thesis.