• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.85-107
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• 2010

A comprehensive electronic trade portal such as the electronic bills of lading, e-negotiations and so on, is developed by the Korea Ministry of Knowledge Economy and International Trade Association and serviced by KTNET. The portal, so called u-TradeHub, formally started to provide its services on 22nd May, 2009. If the shipper issues electronic bills of lading, the negotiating bank examines it through the established e-Nego system. However, the issuing bank overseas cannot examine the electronic bills of lading, because any interactive system does not exist. So, after the e-Nego, the electronic bills of lading gets automatically transformed into the paper-type electronic bills of lading and issuing bank examine paper B/L. In process of examining documents, the beneficiary using electronic means in letter of credit transactions may face some risks such as the corruption to the electronic bill of lading after its issuance by the carrier, the corruption after e-Nego and the corruption after the presentation to the issuing bank. In this paper, we studied the problems on corruptions to occur in the middle of the examination process of the electronic bills of lading and suggestions how to solve them are discussed.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.93-107
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• 2021

The bill of lading serves to link imports and exports. It is the last document issued in the export process and is the most important document before import and export as it is the first document required for importers to take over goods. Transfer the right to the goods to be transported to another person through endorsement. The role and importance of the bill of lading has already been suggested in many previous studies and the trading partners are fully aware of it. In addition, all countries and international organizations recognized the importance and enacted various laws and systems in relation to possible legal problems and they have become customary in practice. However, trade fraud that exploits the characteristics of the bill of lading may occur. In order to solve this problem, various attempts related to the electronic rights transfer of the bill of lading began to be carried out, and many institutions and companies are still trying to develop a new system. As a result of these efforts, electronic bills of lading, such as bolero, appeared, and electronic bills of lading, which can transfer rights in an electronic way, appeared. Therefore, this study intends to present the feasibility of the introduction of smart bills of lading after examining the current status of electronic bills of lading and the introduction of block chain technology-based bills of lading.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.31-52
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• 2020

Purpose - This study mainly investigates two potential legal regimes expected to govern the use of electronic bills of lading: the Rotterdam Rules (2009) and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (2017). Widespread use of electronic bills of lading has been unsuccessful partly due to the absence of a uniform legal regime and protracted uncertainties. This paper aims to carry out an assessment of the possibilities where either of two potential legal regimes could provide certainty to the effect and validity of the use of electronic bills of lading, and contribute to the facilitation of electronically transferring the rights to goods carried by sea. Design/methodology - This paper first introduces two legal instruments and the relevance to electronic bills of lading. Since neither of these legal instruments has yet entered into force, the following section looks into the ratification or enactment possibilities based on a literature review and track records of the past legal regimes of the same kind. Assessment of the different adoption possibilities further requires comparative work of the two legal instruments, which will be based on an analysis of relevant provisions and a literature review. The literature review on the Rotterdam Rules delves into various studies and data produced since the UNCITRAL's adoption in 2009. The literature review on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records heavily relies on UNCITRAL working group documents from 2011 to 2017 together with the final explanatory note. Findings - The main findings can be summarized as follows. Application of the Rotterdam Rules would negate the role of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records assisting in the implementation of the Rotterdam Rules due to some conflicting issues. Enactment of the UNCITRAL Model Law alone can sufficiently provide a higher level of certainty in the use and effect of electronic bills of lading so long as lawmakers and parties are aware of some issues with the application. What concerns potential users most is the extension of the status quo, where neither of the legal instruments have any effect. It is necessary to take a number of alternatives into consideration, such as promotion of standard clauses and confirmation by a court ruling. Originality/value - Existing studies focus either on the Rotterdam Rules or on the UNCITRAL Model Law, but not both. Not many papers have yet dealt with the Model Law, which was adopted by UNCITRAL only 2 years ago, particularly in the context of a potential legal regime for electronic bills of lading. This paper attempts to introduce the differences between the two legal instruments in regulating the use of electronic bills of lading while providing an assessment of the various possibilities for which parties involved in international trade can be better prepared for the changing legal environment.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.54
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• pp.235-260
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• 2012

The CMI Rules for Electronic Bills of Lading were based on sound principles that are now reflected in the provisions of the Rotterdam Rules, which provide for the use of electronic equivalents to bills of lading. Services involving bills of lading which exist in electronic form for at least part of their lives, and which use encryption to guarantee integrity and security of these electronic records, are already being offered by a number of carriers, among them APL. The relative success of APL's system demonstrates that the use of a system which embodies the basic ideas and processes underlying the CMI Rules could easily become a practical reality in the near future. The basic principles in the CMI Rules and the Rotterdam Rules adopt a minimum requirements approach and does not flesh out the details of procedures for the use of electronic bills. This is an improvement, as it allows adaptability to future technological developments. Successful electronic bill of lading systems can only be developed in response to customer demand, and carriers are in the best position to gauge this and design systems to cater for it. APL has demonstrated this by creating a system which is tailor-made to its customers' requirements. The CMI Rules were correct in their assumption that electronic bill of lading services should be provided by carriers. They also seem to have anticipated that the switch to the electronic medium would not be sudden and complete, but would require a gradual phasing out of paper documents over a long period of time.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.68-83
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• 2019

Purpose - The UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (Model Law) is based on the principles of non-discrimination against the use of electronic means, functional equivalence, and technology neutrality underpinning all UNCITRAL texts on electronic commerce. Investigating the disagreements between the Model Law and the Koran Commercial Act (KC Act), including the B/L Regulation, and suggesting the revision of the KC Act including the B/L Regulation, could be a valuable study. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the harmonization of Korean legislation regarding electronic bill of lading in compliance with the Model Law. Design/methodology - The Model Law is flexible to accommodate the use of all technologies and models, such as registries, tokens, and distributed ledgers: that is, blockchain. In 2007, the KC Act was revised to regulate electronic bills of lading to promote the widespread legal use of electronic bills of lading. In addition, The Regulation on Implementation of the Provisions of the Commercial Act Regarding Electronic Bills of Lading (the B/L Regulation) was enacted to regulate the detailed procedures in using electronic bills of lading in 2008. This paper employs a legal analysis by which this paper does find differences between two rules in light of technology neutrality and global standard of electronic bills of lading model. Findings - The main findings are as follows: i) the Korean registry agency has characteristics of a closed system. ii) The KC Act has no provision regarding control. iii) The KC Act discriminates other electronic bills of lading on the ground that it was issued or used abroad. Moreover, this study does comprehensive analysis of Korean Acts in comparison with the Model Law and, in particular, this study analyzes the differences between the KC Act and the Model Law by comparing article by article in view of the harmonization of the two rules. Originality/value - The subject of previous several studies was draft provisions on Electronic Transferable Records before completion of the Model Law; thus, these studies did not take into consideration the character of the Model Law as the Model Law was chosen at the final stage of legislation. This study is aimed at the final version of the Model Law. So, this study is meaningful by finding the suggestion and directions for the Korean government to revise the KC Act and the B/L Regulation in line with the Model Law.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.171-194
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• 2005

The CMI Rules for Electronic Bills of Lading were drafted by the Comite Maritime International(CMI) and related specifically to EDI transfers of negotiable bills of lading. The CMI Rules are contractual in nature and the application of the CMI Rules is strictly voluntary. The method adopted in the CMI Rules to enable negotiation of the rights to cargo in a controlled method is based on the introduction of the ‘Private Key’. The Bolero service will be governed by a multilateral contract called the Bolero Rule Book which specifies the rights and responsibilities of Bolero and its users. The Title Registry and Bolero Bill of Lading provide a fully functional equivalent to the paper bill of lading. The Bolero Bill of Lading can be created, transferred, amended, and surrendered by way of designating to order party, blank endorsement, refusal by the transferee etc. In Japan, through TEDI Project, the RSP Model is introduced as e-trade solution like Bolero's Solution. The RSP Model Solution will be furnished through TC(Trade Chain) Server and RSP(Repository Service Provider) Server. The purpose of this paper is to analyze comparatively the CMI Rules and Bolero Bill of Lading and RSP Model of TEDI and to find the implications in this case study for quick introduction of electronic Bill of Lading.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.199-218
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• 2005

The international business community has been seeking to change paper based bill of lading to electronic bill of lading for the recent years. The reasons for the need for electronic bill of lading are the benefits to international traders:they are fast to issue, transmit and process. These benefits are eliminate the crisis of bill of lading and come down the cost international business community have to charged. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and issue the problems of the present methods of the Electronic Bill of Lading and find implications to commercialized the Electronic Bill of Lading in the basis of the laws and practices of the international trade. Various attempts are offered to achieve this benefits for the last years such as SeaDocs Project, CMI Rules for Electronic Bills of Lading, and Bolero Project. But these methods are yet to be achieved the goals to substitute the paper-based Bill of Lading to Electronic Bill of Lading entirely.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.183-203
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• 2017

Two solution approaches have been suggested globally to solve the crisis of bill of lading; that is to say, electronic bill of lading and sea waybill. Electronic bill of lading is not unsettled as a solution to solve the crisis of bill of lading but sea waybill is used on a global basis to do so. The surrendered bill of lading is applied for practical usage instead of sea waybill in a short voyage among Korea, China, and Japan, owing to faster delivery at destination and lower cost than bill of lading. To surrender the original bill of lading, the consignor should submit all originals with a request letter to the carrier of goods with necessary surrender charges, if any, in doing so. Once after receiving the original bills of lading consisting of normally three originals but in some cases five, the carrier stamped "Surrendered" on the front of original bills of lading and sent a message to his counterpart at the port of destination, stating that the original bill of lading surrendered at the port of shipment and the consignee can take delivery of the goods without production of the original bill of lading at destination. The legal regime of the surrendered bill of lading is not settled as it is not considered legally as bill of lading, and the decisions rendered by each nation's courts are different according to the usages of the surrendered bill of lading. The purpose of this paper is to prevent the disputes between parties with regard to the surrendered bill of lading by studying the causes and precautions of disputes in relation to the surrendered bill of lading.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.49-68
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• 2009

In 2003, the Uniform Commercial Code(UCC) which is a kind of model law to unify commercial law between several states in US was amended to use electronic document of title including bill of lading. It is the second following the Australia legislation in 1996. Also, the Korean government amended Commercial Act and made the Presidential Decree for using electronic bill of lading in 2008. In this paper the authors reveal the characteristics of the clause of UCC for electronic bill of lading. The characteristics of the clause are on the technical neutrality of the signature, the possibility of reissuance in alternative medium, and adoption of the concept of "control." It helps to suggest some implications for Korean government authority. The authors suggest the amendment of the Presidential Decree to the Korean government authority to use additionally digital signature authorized by non Korean government such as VeriSign. It will activate the use of electronic bill of lading issued by Korea repositary out of Korea.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.281-300
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• 2009

In 2003, the Uniform Commercial Code(UCC) which is a kind of model law to unify commercial law between several states in US was amended to use electronic document of title including bill of lading. It is the second following the Australia legislation in 1996. Also, the Korean government amended Commercial Act and made the Presidential Decree for using electronic bill of lading in 2008. In this paper the authors reveal the characteristics of the clause of UCC for electronic bill of lading. The characteristics of the clause are on the technical neutrality of the signature, the possibility of reissuance in alternative medium, and adoption of the concept of "control." It helps to suggest some implications for Korean government authority. The authors suggest the amendment of the Presidential Decree to the Korean government authority to use additionally digital signature authorized by non Korean government such as VeriSign. It will activate the use of electronic bill of lading issued by Korea repositary out of Korea.