The issuance of electronic Bills of Lading (E-Bs/L) has been possible for more than 20 years, although the legal framework for E-Bs/L around the world has been slow to catch up.However lately a number of countries have started legally recognising the status of E-Bs/L and given their increasing usage, it is important that correspondents keep up-to-date with developments, especially in their local jurisdictions. We would encourage correspondents to keep the Club updated on any changes and provide guidance where necessary on their usage.For example, Singapore enacted the Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Act in 2021, creating legislation that recognises electronic equivalents of transferable documents including bills of lading, promissory notes and bills of exchange. Another example is Spain which has adopted a similar framework under the Maritime Navigation Act 2014. More recently the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 came into force in September and gives legal recognition in English law to electronic trade documents, including E-Bs/L, provided certain gateway criteria are met.It is well-known that paper Bs/L have three functions, i.e., as a receipt, as evidence of the contract of carriage and, finally, as a document of title to the goods. The main challenge for E-Bs/L has been the fulfilment of the document of title function. For carriers, this creates uncertainty about whether delivery of goods according to E-Bs/L protects them against claims for misdelivery. However, under the new legal regime in England, provided that the electronic system satisfies the gateway criteria, English law will make no distinction between paper and E-Bs/L. Those criteria are that the electronic trade document should contain a certain minimum amount of information; be capable of exclusive control and allow a holder to divest itself of that control; the underlying electronic trade system must be reliable and have integrity; and, it should be possible to identify what is an original electronic trade document and what is a copy and to identify who uniquely controls the electronic trade document at any point in time.There are many advantages to the use of E-Bs/L, such as the scope for significant reduction in the use of fraudulent bills of lading. The preparation/checking of paper Bs/L takes time and costs money. To avoid this, a Letter of Indemnity is often used to ensure the prompt release of cargo which exposes the carrier to counter-party credit risk. Digitalisation has the capacity to benefit all the involved parties.NorthStandard supports digitalisation and has separately endorsed BIMCO’s “25 by 25 pledge”, the campaign to accelerate the uptake of E-Bs/L, targeting 25% of annual trade on e-bills by 2025.For more information on E-Bs/L please click here