ELECTRONIC BILL OF LADING IN THE JORDANIAN LEGISLATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH HAMBURG AND ROTTERDAM RULES

The sea bill of lading is the most important maritime transport document. One day, the electronic bill of lading will become the only document used in maritime transport and its paper form will be merely part of history. Continuing to use the paper bill of lading negatively affects foreign trade and maritime transport in Jordan in light of the global trend towards the full use of electronic bills of lading. This study adopted the descriptive analytical approach by analyzing the legal provisions related to dealing with the electronic bills of lading in the Jordanian legislation and comparing them with the rules of Hamburg 1978 and Rotterdam 2008. The study is divided into two sections: the concept of the electronic bill of lading, and the stages of the electronic bill of lading in terms of its issuance, trading, and expiration. The results of the study revealed the possibility of dealing with the electronic bills of lading in Jordan in light of the provisions of Jordanian legislation and the rules of Hamburg 1978. The study recommends encouraging the Jordanian government to ratify the Rotterdam Rules 2008 as the legal structure for electronic bills of lading.