The UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records: Introduction and Overview

In 2017 UNCITRAL adopted the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) to address issues relating to the use of transferable documents and instruments such as bills of lading, bills of exchange and promissory notes in electronic form. The article discusses the background and the main features of the Model Law with reference also to national legislation. In particular, it highlights the challenges posed by the transposition in the digital world of the incorporation of the right to delivery of goods or payment of a sum of money in the paper-based document and illustrates the solutions suggested in the Model Law. It also offers an overview of the status of the adoption worldwide in light of its endorsement by the G7 and of the references made to it in digital trade agreements.