Evaluation of the electronic bill of lading as an alternative to the traditional bill of lading in proving the maritime transport contract in the light of Jordanian legislation, a comparative study with modern international agreements

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the electronic bill of lading as an alternative to the traditional bill of lading in proving the contract of sea carriage of goods. The problem of our research revolved around knowing the extent to which the electronic bill of lading serves as a guide to the traditional bill of lading in proving the contract of maritime transport of goods in the light of Jordanian legislation.

To answer this problem, we divided this study into two sections: The first topic dealt with the nature of the traditional bill of lading and its role in proving the maritime transport contract. The second topic is devoted to presenting the electronic bill of lading and its role in proving the electronic shipping contract.

Returning to the answer to the problem of our research, it became clear to us the need for the Jordanian legislator to intervene, whether in the Maritime Trade Law No. 12 of 1972 or in the International Multimodal Transport of Goods Law No. 29 of 2018 by establishing a direct legislative regulation of the electronic bill of lading, as such direct regulation will help to Apply unified legal rules to the transfers that take place with the electronic bill of lading, without referring to the Electronic Transactions Law No. 15 of 2015 as the general law that regulates electronic transactions in general. Consequently, the door will remain open for the implementation of the Hamburg Agreement in force in the Kingdom without any complications.

Keywords: marine bill of lading, electronic bill of lading, transport document, electronic data exchange, electronic commerce.