개정 상법상의 전자선하증권에 관한 법적 검토

A Bill of Lading that was made from paper has been the target of criticism, what is called 'the crisis of Bill of Lading' these years for several reasons. The ship reaches faster than Bill of Lading because of high-speed vehicle. After the crisis of B/L, Electronic Bill of Lading is thought as the most effective solution to the problems of present B/L system. The National Assembly of the Korean Republic revising Maritime Law in Korean Commercial Code on July 3, 2007, provisions of the Electronic Bill of Lading have been created. Revised Commercial Code provides that the Electronic Bill of Lading is in force by means of registering in the Title Registry instead of issuance. Futhermore, the Electronic Bill of Lading has legal force as the Bill of Lading. But there's room for improvement in the revision. Electronic Bill of Lading system is also a system that the ownerships of goods is transferred through electronic title registry instead of issuing and transferring paper bill of lading. Electronic Bill of Lading serves three functions : (ⅰ) a receipt for goods, (ⅱ) an evidence of a contract of carriage, and (ⅲ) a document of title to the goods. So, the role of an institution for registration becomes very important, as it must take charge of electronic transfer of the title for the goods in transit and ensure transmission of the data concerning the contract for carriage. Because the electronic bill of lading cannot implements the functions by electronic message itself. It is desirable that the institution for registration should be a third party professional institution that is in no way related to the shipper, the title transferor or transferee, the carrier. In introducing the Electronic Bill of Lading system to our legal system, we need to examine whether that system is the most effective one and to study on some expected conflicts between our legal system and the Electronic Bill of Lading system on which Electronc Title Registry system based. It is worth examining the Electronic Bill of Lading about legal aspect.