Economic & Commercial Law

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Browsing Economic & Commercial Law by Author "Matovu, Ebbychris"

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    Recognition of electronic bill of lading in commercial transactions: A critical study of the Legal framework in Tanzania
    (Mzumbe Unversity, 2014) Matovu, Ebbychris
    Since historic times, bill of lading constitutes one of the oldest forms of contract in international trade. However, it has undergone various transformations from a document of receipt of goods shipped to a document of title representing the goods it describes. Technological advancement has contributed to the great extent to affect the form of a bill of lading in particular. When these happen the mercantile world has already been witnessed traditional paper-based bill of lading lost its merchantability due to the problems caused by delay, fraud and high cost of generating and processing paper documents which slowed down the development of international trade at large. Solution to the problems of traditional paper-based bill of lading was to introduce the use of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in shipping practice by substituting paper documents with electronic alternatives particularly by replicating the features of traditional bill of lading with electronic bill of lading. Unfortunately, electronic bill of lading has faced many legal obstacles in the process of substituting the paper-based bill of lading. Nevertheless, the outmoded legal framework is considered as the major obstacle towards the recognition of electronic bill of lading in international trade. However, some private initiatives have accepted the challenges and they have introduced various private rules trying to overcome the legal uncertainties of electronic bill of lading. This study has critically examined the legal framework which regulates the contract of carriage of goods by sea, and further it studied how the legal framework has slowed down the recognition of electronic bill of lading in commercial transactions in Tanzania. Along with it, the study has critically examined some relevant projects of electronic bill of lading and their respective rules, and further, it shows how far these projects overcome the legal uncertainties of e-BL especially the negotiability aspect of traditional bill of lading. Lastly, the study has recommended that the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act should be amended, and the government should enact specific laws for electronic transactions in order to make e-BL being recognised in commercial transactions in Tanzania.