Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
BLOCKCHAIN BILLS OF LADING AND THEIR FUTURE REGULATION
Wang Feng *
The advent of blockchain bills of lading has attracted the attention of both industry participants and maritime scholars. Concerns are growing about the development of blockchain bills of lading and the construction of a future regulatory framework. This article will argue that, rather than relying on reform or implementation of positive law instruments regarding blockchain bills of lading, the other layer of regulation in the shipping industry, which consists of relevant self-regulation instruments, should be considered to provide a basis for filling the regulatory gap between the fast evolution of blockchain bills of lading and the inherent conservatism of maritime law.
I. INTRODUCTION
Maritime transport is one of the essential industries that drive the world’s economy. Over 90 per cent of the world’s trade is transported by sea, and it is the most cost-effective way to move a large volume of cargo and material around the world.1 At the same time, shipping law can be described as conservative and an area that is known for its notoriously slow response to technological change and shipping practice.2 Cornerstones of the current legal regime governing the carriage of goods by sea can be traced back to the late-nineteenth century or even to late-medieval times.3
Unsurprisingly, technology is often ahead of its time, and legal responses are always lagging.4 In recent years, there have been several digital technologies arising in the maritime sector. For instance, it is said that artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous vessel initiatives will significantly reduce human error and maintenance issues, whilst
* Research Fellow, Centre for Maritime Law (CML), National University of Singapore. The author would like to thank his colleagues at CML for their comments of this paper, and in particular, Associate Professor Paul Myburgh, who has provided invaluable guidance and direction, without which this paper could not have been completed. The author is also grateful to the anonymous referee for valuable comments.
1. See business.un.org/en/entities/13.
2. Martin Davies, “When Was the Last Time You Were Restrained by a Prince? Conservatism and the Development of Maritime Law”, in PK Mukherjee (ed), Maritime Law in Motion (Springer 2020) 153; Paul Myburgh, “Uniformity or Unilateralism in the Law of Carriage of Goods by Sea?” (Switzerland, 2000) 31 VUWLR 355.
3. For the development of bill of lading, see Sir R Aikens, R Lord and M Bools, Bill of Lading, 3rd edn (Abingdon, 2020), ch.1.
4. R Brownsword, E Scotford and K Yeung, “Law, Regulation, and Technology: The Field, Frame, and Focal Questions”, in R Brownsword, E Scotford and K Yeung (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Law, Regulation and Technology” (Oxford, 2017) (“Brownsword, Scotford & Yeung”), 8–9.
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