Research On The Legal Effect Of Electronic Bill Of Lading

Bill of Lading (B/L) plays a critical role in international business activities. The disadvantages of traditional B/L, however, becomes more and more obvious with the development of economy and technology, the increasing demand to higher efficiency and informationization; therefore, it is an inevitable trend that Electronic Bill Lading (EBL) will replace the traditional form.Since EBL is a form of bill in international trade that is different from the traditional one, the legal force of EBL becomes a critical factor that influences and constrains the application and hence popularization of EBL in practice. Focusing on the legal force of EBL, the author studies and compares the legislation in different nations. Based on the research on related EBL theories, the author raises the issue of insufficiency--in both theory and practice--to identify the legal force of EBL, and analyzes the essence of its legal right, the realization of propriety right and creditor’s right, and the validity of evidence, by which the legal force of EBL are clearly defined. In the last part of the paper, the author discusses briefly about the legal issues in the practice of EBL in China and brings out the suggestion of legislating on EBL to promote the usage of EBL in international trade.