Policymakers
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the global trading system’s continued reliance on physical documentation. One key roadblock in the transition to paperless trade is the lack of recognition in domestic legal systems of electronic transferable records (ETRs). As a policymaker, these are key steps that you can take to unlock the benefits of trade digitisation for your country.
One key roadblock in the transition to paperless trade is the lack of recognition in domestic legal systems of electronic transferable records (ETRs).
Transferable documents are essential commercial tools.
Electronic transferable documents will democratise accessibility to reliable, high-quality, trusted data.
Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records
A solution exists in the form of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Records (MLETR).
MLETR aims to enable the use of ETRs both domestically and across borders, by recognizing the legal validity of ETRs that are functionally equivalent to their paper-based counterparts.
MLETR was developed by Working Group IV of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, through an inclusive and deliberative process between 2011 and 2016.
For the Digital Standards Initiative, widespread adoption of MLETR holds the promise of increased efficiency, consistency and coherence in the modernization and harmonization of legislation on paperless trade.