A Study On Electronic Commerce Provisions In The Rotterdam Rules

The development of e-commerce brings hopes to resolve the crises of traditionla bill of lading,however, the lack of regulatory leads that the e-commerce can not be adaquately used in international maritime area,and the revolution of e-commerce rules of international maritime transport law can not get movement,still the use of transport document in electrionic means encounters difficulties when transferring rights.As a new international maritime convention,Rotterdam Rules tries to solve these problems.The electronic commerce provisions in Rotterdam Rules adapt the requirments of situation.With the development of society,it is urgent to recognize of electronic means and electronic documents in international Carriage of goods,meanwhile,e-commerce and the trade of goods has been connected in practice,there are many legislative provisions and lagal practice about it.But without clear definition of the legal effects of tranport documents in electronic means,all the efforts stay into a difficult situation.Based on the recognization of functional equivalence principle,media neutrality principle and technological neutrality principle,Rotterdam Rules defines the electronic communications,transport documents and electronic transport records,establish a unique parallel transport document system between paper transport document and electronic transport records.Moreover,through regulating the issurance and use of eletronic transport record,its legal effect is clearly endowed.China is a maritime power,it could not be neglected that the electronic commerce provision in Rotterdam Rules will affect our legislation.Compared with Rotterdam Rules,Chinese legislation don't define the transport documents in electronic means yet,there are legislative barriers of transport documents in electronic means in evidence function and circulation function.As a result,China should treat the convention scientifically,and take this as an opportunity to promote the adjustment of Maritime law in China,thus to meet the needs of the development of practice,endow the transport documents in electronic means with the corresponding legal effect.