전자선하증권에 관한 국제적 법제 동향과 시사점

Law inevitably tends to lag behind changes in practice, and this is especially true in the field of electronic bills of lading in which technology and shipping are converged. Of course, some practical obstacles of electronic bills of lading – due to, for example, unique characteristics unique to bills of lading, technical limitations, and costs – have served as a stumbling block in the digitalization of international trade. Yet, the uncertainty has been a main contributing factor caused by legal vacuum following the introduction of electronic bills of lading. Some legal instruments and rules established thereafter have also impeded electronic bills of lading from widely being adopted due to the lack of conceptual understanding and the failure to consider the applicability of new technologies. 40 years have passed since electronic bills of lading were introduced – during which experiences have been accumulated through a number of trials and errors in both law and practice. The increasing number of electronic bill of lading systems and relevant legal instruments have positively contributed to the awareness of various parties involved in international trade. In particular, as new technologies such as blockchain have recently been introduced to electronic bills of lading, the scope of their development and application is expanding significantly. In law, legal reform is expected to accelerate with the adoption of the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). This study first examines the legal and functional concept of electronic bills of lading together with technical approaches to understand the fundamental problem as to why electronic bills of lading have failed widespread use for a long time. Next, this study identifies future legal challenges as well as how the current issues surrounding electronic bills of lading are addressed – by analyzing the ongoing development and international trend of various electronic bill of lading systems, the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records, which is expected to play the key role in improving the legal certainty in the international circulation of electronic bills of lading, and the directions and substances of recent legal reforms (or discussions) by major countries such as Singapore, United Kingdom, and Japan. Based on the discussion above, this study aims to propose the necessity and direction of new legislation in Korea for electronic bills of lading.